Worlds Apart, Yet So Close
by PeinSaku
Summary: In which Sakura is introduced to a world the likes of which none of them have ever seen. She'll have to befriend an infamous detective in order to capture the mass-murderer that kills people via heart attacks — but, in the end, will she survive it?
1. Prologue

Hello, my fuzzy friends. Since someone oh-so-kindly explained to me that I have turned Sakura into a marysue, I decided to rewrite the first chapter. I hope you're happy. Now, see, I could waste time yelling at this person and eventually getting myself into trouble with FanFiction; but, no. I'm too tired to do that right now, and frankly, I'm too pissed off.

So have at it. Enjoy. Whatever the hell else.

To all my faithful readers that point out my mistakes WITHOUT flaming, I thank you. There is no need to flame someone; they're expressing what they think should happen. As in, an OPINION. Flamers never seem to realize that these OPINIONS do not actually happen in the anime/manga. Is that really so hard to understand?

To Matt (you know who you are):  
Thank you so much for supporting me all this time. :) I know I sound like an evil bitch right now... ^^' Sorry. This chapter is dedicated to you, my friend. Hope you like it! ;)

To everyone else:  
Please read and review, and if you don't like how it turned out, please tell me. Just don't flame. :)

(Keep in mind that this is the prologue. Each chapter will be three or four times longer than this - hopefully.)

* * *

They were in deep shit. _Very_ deep shit.

Five versus ten. Five Konoha-nin against the entire Akatsuki. Three ANBU, one ROOT member, and one Jonin Jinchuriki fighting ten S-class criminals. They were fucked.

Sakura grit her teeth as she twisted her body to avoid a poisoned katana, cursing all known gods for their predicament. Five against ten meant that they each had to fight two.

Kakashi was struggling – and quickly losing – against the Akatsuki Leader, Pein, and his partner, Konan. Yamato was avoiding Tobi's attacks, while simultaneously attempting to locate Zetsu. Sai was dodging Hidan and Kakuzu's advances, throwing armies of paint-creatures at the pair. Naruto was doing well against Kisame, but quite the opposite against Uchiha Itachi. And finally, Sakura fought against Deidara and his partner – someone she definitely recognized: Sasori no Akasuna.

Sakura was pissed, to say the least. She had killed Sasori four years earlier, but apparently the Akatsuki had put him back together.

With a growl, Sakura delivered a crushing blow to the offending puppet, smashing it to pieces. Sasori sent at least a dozen more at her, not so much as batting an eye. Sakura hated to admit it, but he had gotten a lot stronger since the last time they met — but then again, so had she. This time, however, Lady Chiyo wasn't around to save her, and Deidara was thrown into the mix. Not the best of odds.

Sasori pulled his puppet back just in time to avoid one of his partner's bombs. The explosion forced Sakura to leap into the air, and she scowled at the blond. He sent her a cocky grin from the giant bird on which he was perched and dropped three more spiders. Sakura threw a kunai with deadly accuracy, the weapon slicing through all three and detonating them at a safe distance.

Sasori's puppet, and another newly-summoned one, were on Sakura before she had a chance to catch her breath. Damn, these guys were good. Sakura flipped backwards to avoid a long poisoned spike that protruded from the puppet's palm, drawing her leg up to deliver an axe kick. Sasori yanked his puppet back to safety and her boot-clad heel slammed into the ground.

A large, thick, earth-trembling crack split the ground and ran in a jagged line, forcing Sasori to change his position. Unfortunately, her earthquake-hits were no good on Deidara unless she got on his bird and decked him in the face. And that, she decided, would feel very nice.

Deidara dropped a handful of spiders, grinning slyly when one latched itself to Sakura's upper arm. The rosette's eyes widened and her gaze locked on Deidara. He was raising his hand to make the seal.

Sakura's heartbeat exploded — no pun intended — into an extremely unhealthy pace as she ripped the clay spider from her arm, chucking it in the direction of Kakashi's fight. Deidara's face twisted into shock and he tried to stop the bomb, but it was too late. The spider grazed Konan's hip and detonated.

The blue-haired kunoichi was blasted back, crashing through two trees and cannoning into a third with jarring force. She slid to the ground limply and lay still, but the slight rising of her chest told Sakura that Konan was only unconscious. Naruto, apparently, had seen the entire thing.

"GO, SAKURA-CHAN!" he screamed, grinning widely. Suddenly, Pein's furious glare was on her. "WHOO! YOU KICK _ASS_!"

Kakashi, panting heavily, sent a grateful nod to his former student, even though she hadn't really meant for that to happen. But she would take what she could get.

Sakura chanced a quick glance at the Akatsuki Leader.

_Whoa, he's PISSED._

Pein sent a message through the mental connection he shared with his subordinates.

"_Sasori, Deidara, take Hatake. I will fight the girl myself."_

"_Yes, Leader-sama, yeah."_

"_Ah."_ Sasori didn't appear too happy. He wanted his revenge, but that was a hopeless dream now; the Akatsuki Leader was going to kill that stupid girl for hurting Konan.

_And it was just getting interesting._ He sighed inwardly. _Oh well. Now her life will be like my art: fleeting, yeah._

Deidara smirked and Sakura tensed. Her eyes narrowed in confusion, however, when they flew in Kakashi's direction.

Sakura's blood suddenly turned to ice as the Akatsuki Leader himself leapt in front of her. Sakura paled. He looked murderous. Naruto gasped loudly and Kakashi let out a strangled, "No!" Sai and Yamato glanced up to see what the commotion was, their eyes widening when they saw Sakura's new opponent.

Sakura stood on end, adrenaline pumping through her veins. She was so royally screwed, there was no words to describe it. Attempting to swallow her fear, Sakura clenched her fists. There was no turning back now. With a battle cry, she launched herself at the Akatsuki Leader, fist reared back for a bone-crushing punch.

Pein easily sidestepped her attack, hand flashing out and grabbing her left arm in the passing. Sakura barely had time to gasp before he snapped the bone like a twig. She slammed into the ground and skidded a few feet, twisting her ankle into an unnatural position in the process. She grit her teeth, sending a bit of medical chakra to her injuries to numb the pain while she fought — a little trick from Tsunade. She couldn't let it distract her or she'd be killed.

Pein made no move toward her; he allowed her a moment to catch her breath, which surprised Sakura. Since when did the Akatsuki have manners? Wasn't he supposed to be some sort of ruthless world-dominating ruler?

_Think about it later._ she told herself. _It doesn't matter right now._

Sakura's right leg trembled ever-so-slightly from the weight she was putting on her hurt ankle, and she held her left arm tenderly. Both were completely numb now, but she wanted to be sure. She glanced at Naruto from the corner of her eye, knowing that he was the reason the Akatsuki were here. He was the very last jinchuriki.

She watched as Naruto socked Kisame in the face, red-orange chakra bubbling around his fist. The blue-skinned man flew back a good ten feet, momentarily stunned. Naruto eyes were bloodred; the kyubi was rearing its ugly head again. Itachi was suddenly behind him with a kunai, and the blond couldn't turn fast enough.

_No!_ she thought in horror. _They can't catch him!_

And then, Kakashi sent a raging fire dragon at the Uchiha, completely ignoring Sasori and Deidara. Relief washed through Sakura. Naruto was safe, for now, with Kakashi protecting him. Feeling slightly better, Sakura looked Pein straight in the eye. She was still terrified of him beyond belief, but she was determined not to go down without one hell of a fight.

Springing to her feet, she formed a chakra scalpel in her right hand. Pein was cool and collected, not so much as breathing heavily. Now she understood why Amegakure revered him as a god. She darted toward him, packing chakra into her legs to increase her speed. He dodged smoothly, catching her elbow. She sucked in a sharp breath, but instead of breaking it, he gripping it tightly. Confusion clouding her judgment, Sakura met his gaze.

"Stop fighting," he ordered bluntly. "Lives need not to be wasted."

She glared at him furiously, but didn't pull away. She was using this chance to form a plan. "Are you kidding me?" she hissed. "You're trying to kill Naruto!"

His ringed gray eyes were slightly hard, showing that he had no intentions of changing his mind. "Go home," he said simply. "Go home and leave this fight with your life."

"Never!" Sakura growled. "I'm not abandoning Naruto!"

Something sparked in the Leader's eyes. "Than take him with you."

Sakura froze up in shock. "What?"

In a heartbeat, the situation changed drastically.

Suddenly, Tobi — the one who supposedly couldn't do _anything_ — appeared behind Naruto and threw him all the way across the clearing. Pein knocked Sakura aside and unraveled a black-rimmed silver scroll that held the kanji symbol for 'portal'.

The inside held two circles that overlapped, one containing the kanji for 'time' and the other 'space'. A flow of endless kanji symbols spiraled around the center, ending with the symbol 'portal' above the two inner circles. He flew through a series of complicated hand signs and slammed his palm down onto the center of the opened scroll.

Steam blasted from the center of the scroll, suddenly beginning to glow. The illuminated steam swirled faster and compacted together until it burst into a bright jagged sphere of pure white light. A vacuuming sound wafted from the 'portal', sucking in everything around it. Trees began to lean towards the rip in the universal fabrics, leaves and rocks being pulled in.

Tobi kicked Naruto to the ground just feet away from the portal. It drew him forward, his black sandals scraping against the earth and failing to get a hold. He panicked as he slid towards the light, the Kyubi within him roaring angrily.

_**Kit, get away from the portal!**_ it snarled, orange-red chakra beginning to swirl around the Uzumaki.

Naruto was suddenly airborne and he tore towards the portal helplessly.

"NOO!" he yelled, desperately clawing his way down.

Just inches away from the portal, something hit his back.

Time drew to a crawl as Sakura flew horizontally through the air, shoving Naruto out of the way. As Naruto was pushed away, however, Sakura was brought closer. She curled away from the portal, drawing her arms in a protective X-shape, and time sped back up as she was suddenly sucked in.

"NOOOOO!" Naruto screamed. "SAKURA-CHAAAAAN!"


	2. Arriving in the Unknown

Alright! Here's the first official chapter of _Worlds Apart, Yet So Close_! I hope you all like it! I had a lot of fun writing it! :D Anyways, I'd like you all to know that I am NOT discontinuing any of my stories. I'm still writing them. So, uh, yeah. That's it.

I don't own Naruto or Death Note, but someday the REAL owners will go missing and have strange heart attacks...

* * *

Everything happened so suddenly. Flashes of black, white and silver shot through her vision, and Sakura felt as if she were dying. Her body seemed to be pushing itself far beyond her natural limits; it was tearing itself apart.

That was how it felt, at least. Sakura wasn't sure if she screamed; her mind was completely frozen over. Sakura was falling, and fast.

Invisible flames seemed to envelop her, greedily licking at her skin. Her internals were burning, almost as though her stomach acids had spread throughout her central nervous system.

Her body twitched and jerked violently, and her eyes glazed over. The rosette couldn't even gasp in pain. No sound would come.

Bright white light appeared out of nowhere, and suddenly, it was _everywhere_. Sakura's eyes began to close, and the last thing she heard before the blinding light swallowed her was her Inner's scream.

.

.

.

A bright portal tore itself a hole and deposited Sakura's limp body. She fell, slamming against a wall before hitting the ground with a dull 'thud'.

Sakura struggled internally to awaken.

_Ugh...what happened?_

_**S-sakura...chan...oooohh...**_

_I-inner? You alright?_

_**Yeah...oh, god, my **_**head**_**...**_

Finally, her eyes cracked open. She was momentarily blinded, forcing herself to blink multiple times to clear her vision. When Sakura could see–albeit, not completely rid of the blurriness–she stared in shock.

Sakura had absolutely no idea where she was.

Sakura slowly looked around, her lips parted slightly in disbelief. She recognized that she was in an ally, but that was about it. The two walls surrounding her were made of metal, much like those in Amegakure, but _extremely_ tall. Late afternoon light poured in through the opening of the alleyway, dying Sakura's hair a brilliant dark pink.

Loud noises from the entrance of the alley attracted Sakura's attention. With a frown, the kunoichi realize that she didn't recognize the sounds in the slightest.

She stood carefully, bracing herself against the wall as she stumbled.

_Damn._ she thought, wincing slightly. _My arm is _killing_ me._ She brought a hand to her left arm, flinching in pain. Sakura glared when little-to-no chakra swirled at her fingertips. _Shit. I used it all up._

Sakura didn't need chakra, however, to inspect her condition; it would just make it easier and less of an annoyance. Her Inner could do that, herself.

Inner Sakura searched their vitals and checked for damage, thoroughly investigating any slight tinge of pain or ache. A moment later, she reported.

_**Freak'n great news, Sakura.**_ she retorted. _**We have a broken arm and severe chakra depletion. I'm officially the only thing keeping us conscious.**_

_Well, that's just wonderful._ she thought dryly.

Sakura jumped as a loud siren-like noise split the air, but it only lasted for a moment.

_**W-what was that?**_

_I don't know..._

Sakura crept cautiously from the small alley, peering around. What she saw shocked her.

She realized that the ground before her was a road, simply because there was nothing else that it could possibly be, but it was covered in hard black stone. All the roads she had ever seen before were made of dirt and/or gravel.

Suddenly, a big metal _thing_–for lack of better words–tore past her, making Sakura yelp and hide in the alley. Her heartbeat racing and the hairs on the back of her neck rising, the rosette popped her head back out. Sakura's eyes widened. They were _everywhere_!

The things only stayed on the road, thought. With a shock, Sakura realized that there were people inside them.

_That's it!_ she exclaimed in realization. _They must be wagons made of metal!_ She smiled to herself, proud of her deductive skills, but frowned a moment later. _But where are the horses and bulls that pull them?_

_**Maybe they pull themselves.**_ her Inner suggested, though not entirely believing it herself.

_Sugoi! That's genius! Perhaps that people inside power it with chakra._ Her Inner quickly shot the idea down.

_**No. That's not it.**_

_Hm? What do you mean?_

_**Those people are civilians. They don't have the capabilities.**_

Curiously, Sakura reached out with whatever chakra she had left, discovering that they were, in fact, civilians.

_Hm...but then how are the wagons powered? Surely they can't run on air alone._

_**Dunno.**_

Sakura decided to let it slide, making a mental note to look further into the matter later. She looked around in awe.

_**Look! The signs light up!**_

_Just like in Tsuki Country! Maybe this is a civilian-only nation._

_**Maybe...oh, **_**wow**_**! Look at the buildings! They're **_**huge**_**!**_

A woman shoved past Sakura rudely, talking obnoxiously to herself. Sakura glared at her, having been thrown from her muses, but then blinked in confusion. The woman was talking to herself?

"-and so I said, 'Seriously?', and he was all like, 'Psh, _yaah_!' And then-"

Sakura stared after her.

_**Jeez. And people call **_**us**_** weird.**_

_Hey, what's that thing she's holding?_

Sakura's eye zeroed in on the thing. The woman was holding a small silver rectangular thing to her right ear.

"_Really?!?"_

Sakura's eyebrows shot up. The talking just came from thin air. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that the voice was actually coming from the silver thing.

"_That is SOOO cool! I wish __**I**__ could have been there!"_

The woman laughed snobbishly.

"I know, right?" she giggled.

"_So, like, did you two go anywhere?"_ the second voice asked eagerly.

"Yeah," she replied, rolling her eyes in a 'duh' manner. "We went to the movies, and guess what! He KISSED me!!"

"_Like, NO WAY!"_

"WAY!!"

They both screamed excitedly, the woman blushing and giggling.

**_My GOD._**

Sakura stared at the thing for a moment longer.

_Where...are we?_

_**I...I don't know...**_

o o o O O O o o o

"NOOOOO!! SAKURA-CHAAAAAN!!"

Naruto leapt desperately at the space where his best friend and sisterly-figure had disappeared, but crashed into the ground.

"NO NO _NOOO_!!" he screamed, punching the ground so hard his knuckles split open.

The blond's eyes flickered red and he watched stiffly as a couple drops of his own blood splattered on the cracked ground. He gritted his teeth furiously, revealing slightly-more-sharp-that-usual canines. A growl ripped from his throat as he flew at the Akatsuki Leader, eyes blazing crimson with rage.

"THIS IS _YOUR_ FAULT!!" Naruto snarled, skidding in the dirt as Pein leapt gracefully out of his way. "YOU TOOK HER AWAY! AND NOW YOU'RE GONNA _PAY_!!"

Pein's eyes narrowed as he easily avoided another anger-driven attack. Naruto's fury was blinding him and making his moves sloppy.

"No," the auburn-haired man disagreed evenly, almost as though he _wasn't_ dodging blows from a seemingly-rabid Jinchuriki. "The girl is the one at fault. She interfered, and therefore suffered the consequences."

"Shut up!" Naruto shrieked, attempting to crush his skull with a particularly vicious punch. "You did this, so just SHUT UP!"

"Annoying little brat," Kisame growled, swiping his over-sized blue hand at Naruto to try and grab his bright orange jacket. The blond whirled away, kicking the Kiri missing-nin in the jaw.

Kisame stumbled back, growling as he rubbed his chin. His arm was barely a flash as he swatted Naruto in the direction of his leader. Naruto landed awkwardly on one foot, fighting to regain his balance.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called, jumping up to aid his former student. His path was blocked by a smirking Deidara and an almost-pissed Sasori. The silver-haired ANBU cursed, his visible eyes narrowing.

Almost as if on instinct, Yamato clasped his hands together, his face grim. Large, thick tendrils of wood burst from the ground, speeding towards Naruto. The Akatsuki Leader and Kisame–who were standing closest to the Jinchuriki–leapt out of the way as they wood-vines latched on the him, pulling him to safety.

"We have to retreat," Yamato reported, his tone leaving no room for argument. Naruto, of course, chose to object anyway.

"No!" he yelled, struggling to free himself from the offending 'tentacles'. "They have Sakura-chan! We can't leave without her!"

"Naruto-"

"_No!"_ he interrupted, nearly ripping the wood from his body. "NO!! I'm not leaving Sakura-chan! I won't! I won't, I won't, I WON'T!!"

"Stop it, Naruto!" Yamato hissed, jerking his head as an indicator for Sai to knock the blond out. "There's nothing you can do! She's gone!" Naruto cried in outrage, fighting even harder against his grasp. Flickerings of red-orange chakra tainted the air around him. "If Sakura's still alive, then we'll organize a platoon to retrieve her! But not now! We don't stand a chance!"

"Why can't we simply get Ugly now?" Sai asked, almost as though he didn't understand the concept of 'capture'.

Yamato and Kakashi backed away slowly, dragging Naruto with them. Sai copied their movements.

"Our medic has been taken," Kakashi explained, his voice hardening. "Without a medic, there is a very real chance that we could all die. And with Naruto in his state of anger, he is reckless and out of control. The Akatsuki will take advantage of this and capture him instantly. We must retreat."

"NO!!"

The Akatsuki advanced. Pein's eyes narrowed.

"Now is our chance," he declared. "Get the kyubi."

"Run! We'll have to get Sakura later!"

"NOOO!!"

o o o O O O o o o

Tsunade sighed.

_No more sake...why is there no more sake?_ "Shizoo-ne," she mumbled, lifting her head from her desk.

Her pale blond hair was messy, strands of hair sticking out from her twin pigtails. Her amber eyes were hazy and glossy, signifying that the Godaime Hokage was once again drunk all to hell. A thin line of drool stuck to her chin, a matching wet pool on her desk. Marks that were suspiciously consistent with one of the many papers on her abused desk stained her cheek, suggesting that Tsunade had been sleeping on the job–yet again.

There was no reply.

"Shizoo-ne," she slurred a bit louder, both arms crossing lazily on her desk as she hunched over slightly.

Quiet footsteps sounded in the hallway, gradually becoming louder. Then, the door opened.

"Yes, milady?" the dark-haired woman asked, taking in the Hokage's condition. She scowled. "Lady Tsunade! Have you been sleeping again?" Her tone was reprimanding.

"Neva mind thaht," came her fuzzy reply, swaying slightly to the side. "Wher's mai sake?"

Shizune sighed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I can't believe you, lady Tsunade," she scolded, making her way through the mountains of paperwork that littered the floor. The medic-nin grabbed her from behind, heaving her up higher in the chair. "You're the _Hokage_! You can't _sleep on the job_!"

Tsunade ignored her.

"Wher's mai sake?"

"And you can't be _drunk_ on the job, either!" Shizune snapped. She snatched up the empty sake bottles and marched over to the trash can, throwing them in as hard as she could.

"Hehy. Thaht's mai sake."

"Lady Tsunade, get a grip!" Shizune said hotly. "Now sit up, and do your work!"

"...wher's mai sake?"

She groaned. Of course. Why did she even bother thinking that she might be able to make Tsunade do her work?

"Hehy, Shizoo-ne..."

She sighed, running a hand through her short hair.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade?"

"...wher's mai sake?"

Shizune's eyebrow twitched. "You drank it all."

"Nuh-uhh."

"_Yes_, you _did_."

"Nuh-uhh."

Shizune groaned again, about ready to rip her hair out. She threw her arms into the air in exasperation.

"Okay, fine!" she growled in irritation. "I threw it in a lake!"

"...wha'dja do thaht fohr?"

"_Ugh!"_

She just couldn't win.

Shizune yanked a drawer open violently, ripping a pen from the clutter. She slammed it down on Tsunade's desk.

"Here!" she practically yelled. "Take it! Sign the stupid documents, already!"

Tsunade stared blanked at the pen as though she had never seen one in her life.

"Shizoo-ne?"

"_What?"_

"Wher's mai sake?"

"_AAGHH!!"_

o o o O O O o o o

While the Akatsuki high-tailed it after the Jinchuriki and his comrades, Pein stood quietly. He turned his head slightly and glanced back coldly.

"How is she?" he asked, his voice deep and quiet.

"She'll be fine," an equally-deep voice replied. "She might have a concussion, but it's nothing serious."

Pein frowned slightly and turned his head back forward, clenching his fists. He watched the spot where his subordinates had disappeared.

"Deidara will be punished for this," he said lowly, the small breeze carrying his words to the other figure that loomed over Konan's body.

The figure's head raised to look at the Akatsuki Leader, the shadows obscuring everything except a single crimson Sharingan eye.

"Don't be too hard on him," he said. "I don't think _sempai_ meant to hurt her." His tone was sarcastic and almost amused.

Pein shot him an icy glare.

"I will punish him as I see fit, Madara," he growled, challenging him to object.

The figure stepped out from the shadows of the trees–or, at least, what was _left_ of the trees–and revealed himself to be Tobi. He raised his hands in a mock-surrender, signaling that he had no intention of stopping him.

"But of course, Pein," he sneered. "You are the Leader, after all."

Pein glared over his shoulder at him.

"Don't test me, Madara." His voice was dark and dangerous. "I have no qualms about taking you out. Remember that."

Madara chuckled darkly, disappearing via teleportation jutsu.

_But remember this, Pein. _I_ am the stronger of us._


	3. Dark Plans Unfold

L sighed. He just didn't understand.

He was so _sure_ that Yagami Light was Kira, but then...

Light had been confined for fifty days, and his attitude had taken a complete turn-around after only seven days. Then, after fifteen days, the killings had started back up again.

_How is it possible?_ L wondered, biting the tip of his thumbnail. _Unless, Kira can kill with his mind..._ However, he found that extremely unlikely. And also, Light still seemed to believe that the killings hadn't started up again. _Is Light-kun really Kira?_

Finally coming to a decision, he pressed the button to communicate with Chief Yagami.

"Yagami-san." His voice wasn't garbled as it usually was; the chief already knew it was him. Light's father didn't even bother to look up at the camera in his room.

"_What?"_ Soichiro murmured, hunched over in a chair.

"I want to speak to you directly," L explained. "Will you return to the Task-force Headquarters?"

Chief Yagami finally glanced at the camera, turning his head slightly to the side but not raising it.

"I will share my conclusion on this case. As Light-kun's father, I want you to be the first to hear it..."

"_...fine..."_

He would test them.

o o o O O O o o o

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"Whoa!"

"Slow down, girl! You're going to hurt yourself!"

Sakura ignored all of the shouts angled in her direction as she dashed down the path of white stone, dodging people left and right. She ran frantically, desperate to find something that she recognized.

She darted out into the road, barely avoiding being squashed by one of the metal self-drawn carts. Angry noises blasted at her ears, making her wince.

_I don't understand! What is all this?!?_ she thought, beginning to panic. _Why is everything here so strange?!?_

Sakura jumped on top of a metal cart, finding herself boxed in otherwise. The cart slammed to a halt, another blaring sound coming from it. A person from inside the wagon-thing stuck his head out the window – it didn't look like a normal window, though, she mused – and yelled at her to 'get off his car'.

'_Car'?_ she wondered, leaping onto another metal monster just a few feet away. _Is that what this is called?_

_**Dunno. I've never heard of them.**_

She decided to call them cars – it was better than 'big metal self-drawn wagon-thing'.

Sakura sprang from car to car, each screeching to a stop as she landed on the tops of them. She jumped down from the last one, finding herself on another white-stone path. She frowned at the stone beneath her feet.

_I think it's concrete._

_**Well, it **_**looks**_** like concrete. What else would it be?**_

_Don't ask me. For all we know, there could be giant, mutated animals._

Inner Sakura shivered. _**Yeah. Don't remind me.**_

Sakura sprinted down the concrete walkway, heading in the same direction as she had across the road. She had no idea where she was going – because she had no clue whatsoever as to where she was – but it had to lead _some_where.

The kunoichi hopped gracefully around civilians, being careful not to knock any of them over. Suddenly, something caught her arm.

Sakura was jerked back and forced to halt. She glanced up in surprise to see a man in all dark blue on top of a beautiful brown horse – she was sure how she'd missed _that_. He was gripping her upper arm.

"Whoa," he murmured. "Slow down, there. She might hurt yourself."

Sakura almost laughed at how similar it sounded to other comments she'd received. She studied him for a moment. She could tell he was in a position of power, simply from the tone of his voice and the uniform he was wearing. A loser inspection revealed her suspicion. He wore a badge and two golden clips on either side of his collar, depicting the words _'Tokyo Police Department'_.

A wide smile made it's way to Sakura's face. A police officer! Just like the Uchiha's had been to Konoha!

_Maybe he can help us!_ "Excuse me, sir," she said politely. "I'm having trouble finding my way home."

His eyebrows lifted above his sunglasses, and the man shot her a smile. "What's your home called?" he asked.

"Konoha," Sakura replied eagerly. "It's short for Konohagakure."

The police officer paused for a moment, frowning.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but I don't know a 'Konohagakure'," he admitted truthfully. "Are you sure that that's what it's called?"

Sakura nodded vigorously, a sick feeling rising in her stomach. How could he not know about Konoha?

He gave her an apologetic look. "Maybe someone else is from your neighborhood," he suggested. "I'd try asking around. I'm afraid I can't help you."

Sakura's heart plummeted. "Oh...I'm sorry for the trouble..."

"It's no trouble at all," the man disagreed. His frowned deepened for a moment, and he lifted her face when one hand. "How old are you? Don't you think you're a bit young to be running around by yourself?"

Sakura took a small step back. Too young? Was he nuts?

"I'm nineteen, sir," she answered, biting her tongue. "And, no. I _don't_ think I'm too young."

After a moment, the officer sighed.

"Well, alright," he surrendered. "I hope you find your way home. If all else fails, you can stop by the station and get directions from the chief or someone else."

Sakura nodded and walked off without a second glance. The word 'station' had thrown her; she had been sure that he would say 'headquarters'. Nevertheless, it didn't matter. 'Station' was perfectly fine, but Sakura wasn't about to go there. (She had no idea where it was, and she doubted that they could help.)

Sakura stopped and turned to a woman on her immediate right.

"Excuse me, ma'am," she called.

The woman glanced at her in surprise. "Yes?"

"Could you tell me how to find Konoha?"

A confused look painted the woman's face. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh...thank you."

The woman nodded and continued with her journey to Kami-knows-where. Sakura sighed.

_Great. Just great. How is it that no one has heard about Konoha? It's one of the largest shinobi countries in existence!_

_**Maybe it has to do with how we got here.**_

_Hm? What do you mean?_

_**Well, we just kind of fell here for no reason. It wasn't like a teleportation jutsu.**_

_True. What kind of portal did the Akatsuki Leader _open_?_

_**Beats me.**_

Sakura was stumped.

So she ran. She tore down the pathway, unable to use chakra to boost her speed, but still flying at a decent rate. Shocked gasps sounded from all directions as she hurtled along, but she paid them no heed. She had to find someone or something that could help her. She _had_ to.

o o o O O O o o o

"Put me down!!"

"Be quiet, Naruto!" Yamato hissed, tightening his grip on the blond.

Naruto struggled violently against the wood bonds incasing his body, the whisker marks on his cheeks beginning to darken. A trickle of sweat ran down Yamato's brow as he tightened the jutsu again, forcing it to hold as the four shinobi flew through the trees.

"We have to go back!" Naruto objected.

"Stop fighting, Naruto!" Kakashi ordered.

"NO!" he yelled back. "We can't leave Sakura-chan behind!! Who _knows_ what they could do to he–"

"Stop yelling!" the silver-haired ANBU snapped. "The more noise you make, the faster the Akatsuki will catch up to us! We have to get to Konoha before that happens!"

"FINE!! Let it happen!! At least I'll be closer to Sakura-chan!"

"Naruto, you are the most idiotic ninja I have even met! If you get captured, _everyone_ will die!!"

"NUH-UH! 'Cause I won't GET captured!!"

Kakashi glared at his former student. "Be quiet and sit still, or I will be forced to knock you out!"

Naruto growled.

"Don't' you CARE about her?!?" he shouted angrily. "Don't you care at ALL?!? 'Cause it sure as hell doesn't LOOK like it!!"

"_Enough!" _Yamato snapped. "Kakashi is under a lot of pressure, and you should be more considerate!"

"How can I be considerate?!?" the nineteen-year-old screamed back. "My sister just got KIDNAPED!!"

Kakashi couldn't help but notice that Sai had remained strangely silent, even for him.

"Sai?" he asked. "Is there something you want to say?"

Sai frowned at the ground that rushed beneath them, his eyes unseeing. "...what's going to happen to Ugly?" he murmured.

Naruto nodded stubbornly and glared at Kakashi, his furious eyes demanding an answer. The ANBU sighed, running a hand through his silver hair.

"I don't know," he admitted. Naruto bristled in rage. "The Akatsuki have her; they could do _anything_ to her...I just don't know."

"Don't start pointing fingers at Kakashi," Yamato warned, casting a stern glance at the two former-students. "He's being forced into a tough situation, right now. Tell me, what would the two of _you_ do?"

"I'd go back for Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted without missing a beat. Sai nodded in agreement.

Yamato studied them for a moment, unconsciously continuing to tree-hop.

"It's Sakura-chan, or hundreds – maybe _thousands_ – of other lives. What do you do?"

That one drew Naruto up short. He paused uncertainly, a pained expression crossing his face.

"...that's not fair, Yamato-sempai," he whispered.

"Of course it's not," the brunette agreed, sighing and closing his eyes. "The shinobi world isn't fair, and everyone knows how to play dirty. There's no distinguish between right and wrong; it's not all black and white." Naruto looked at him, grief clouding his eyes. "There's so many shades of gray that color our world. We shinobi don't fight fair; it's a fact of life." Yamato looked away, staring absently at the tree ahead of them.

"It's a cruel world," Kakashi agreed, not bothering to look at them. "In our home, in our world, you learn that fast. It comes at a young age, and there's nothing anyone can do about it."

Naruto clenched his eyes shut, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

"It's just not fair!" he cried, gritting his teeth. "Why can't everyone get along?!? Why does there have to be such fucked-up people?!?_ Why?!?_"

No one replied.

The same question ran through all of their minds, even though they tried so hard to force it out.

_Why?_

o o o O O O o o o

Tsunade was deathly silent.

She sat hunched over, her head laid weakly on her desk. She just...couldn't believe it.

Her apprentice, her student, her _daughter_... She was gone.

A few tears slipped down her face.

Naruto, Sai, Yamato, and Kakashi had burst into her office only moments ago, screaming about how Sakura had been taken by Akatsuki. They had given a detailed report of the situation, and about how the Akatsuki had pulled back once they reached the Konoha gates.

She bit her lips, eyes squeezing shut painfully.

Tsunade knew that the Akatsuki would be back. She knew that they would most likely attack the village all together. She just couldn't bring herself to do anything.

Her little daughter was gone.

Tsunade may have been drunk to the point of almost-comatose when the four had shown up, but she had instantly sobered at the news. She simply couldn't process the thought of Sakura being gone...

o o o O O O o o o

The Akatsuki members halted one-by-one in front of the Leader, faces grim. Pein's eyes narrowed.

"Where is the Jinchuriki?" he demanded.

"He got away, yeah," Deidara mumbled.

"_Why?"_ Pein's ice-cold voice made a few of them flinch. There was no mistaking the furious hiss in his tone.

"The brat made it back to Konoha before we could catch him," Kisame admitted, taking it upon himself to speak when no one else replied.

Most of them flinched at the dark aura that tainted the air around their Leader. He wasn't just mad; he was _furious_. His eyes were nearly black with rage.

"The Kyubi is the only tailed-demon left!" he growled. "Why is it that no one can seem to capture him?!?"

Itachi supplied the answer.

"He is not alone." Pein's eyes snapped to his, waiting impatiently for the rest. "The other Jinchuriki were not aided by their fellow shinobi; the Kyubi is protected, rather than shunned."

Pein glared at the Uchiha, though didn't direct his anger towards him.

"Very well," he said dangerously, chakra staining the air thickly. "If Konoha wishes to protect him, then they will suffer along with the Kyubi." Surprise flickered in his subordinates' expressions. "Zetsu, it will be your duty to track the Jinchuriki. Report immediately if he leaves the village." Pein lifted his chin, power flowing through his veins. "The Akatsuki will attack Konoha in three day's time at dawn, and the Leaf Village will _fall_."

o o o O O O o o o

Madara remained silent behind his mask. A dark smirk spread across his lips.

Pein was doing exactly the right thing. In attacking the village, he would finally get his revenge against the wretched people who threw him out. Mainly, the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade.

She was the granddaughter of the Shodai Hokage, Senju Hashirama. Hashirama had gotten what was coming to him, and the thought sent Madara into a morbid glee. But, alas, he hadn't been able to kill the Shodai himself. So instead, he would kill his granddaughter.

It would work. It would work.

He stifled a black chuckle, not caring about the way which Itachi was glancing at him. He was smart; he'd give the Uchiha that. But he wasn't stronger than him. Oh, no. He would _never_ be stronger than him; Madara would see to that.

Once he killed the Godaime – and maybe the counsel and Danzo, as well – he would have his revenge. Then, he could take care of Itachi and Pein – and probably Konan – and he could rule Akatsuki without having to hide in the shadows. He knew Kisame would follow him; Madara had been the former Mizukage. All he had to do then was convince Sasuke to join him. Then, everything would be perfect.

* * *

I'm so sorry for the shortness! I wanted to go ahead and post this, so I could put the next part in the next chapter! :) I apologize for the long wait, but please don't shoot me! *ducks behind computer* WAIT!! Don't shoot the computer, either!!

Please review! ;D


	4. 96 Percent Certain

Here's the next chapter!! :D Please read and review!

* * *

"Your child is Kira, so you'll kill him and kill yourself?!" Misa screamed, glaring viciously at Soichiro through her tears. She yanked and struggled against the handcuffs that bound her hands behind her back. "If you want to die, then die by yourself! Can't you even see that if you do that you'll be no different from Kira?!"

"No...," Light's father said coldly. "I'm different than Kira...I have the responsibility of being his father and the police chief."

Misa reared her head back, tears flowing thickly from her eyes. "_AHHH!!!_ You're insane!!"

"Dad! Misa's right!" Light argued, fear showing in his eyes. "If we die here, we'll never uncover the truth! We should run away! The truth might come out. No, I'll find the truth while running!"

"It's too late, Light...," his father murmured grimly, his hand shifting into his jacket. "It's already been decided by those above me. You're dying either way. This way at least it'll be by my hand..."

With that, he withdrew a gun.

"Stop, Dad!" Light yelled, panicking. "I swear I'm not Kira! If we die here, we'll fall right into Kira's trap! Don't you see that?!"

"Amane...," Soichiro said, ignoring Light's words. His eyes were grim and dead. "Light and I will die here, but I have no reason to kill you. The police will find this car soon. You'll be executed at the planned site..."

He pointed the gun directly at Light.

"L-listen, Dad!" his son stammered in terror, sweat trickling down his face. "If we were Kira and the Second Kira, there's no way we'd let you kill us! There are no witnesses here, if we were the Kiras, then..."

"Shut up," he growled, switching off the safety,

"Dad!!"

"Light, we're both murderers. We'll see each other again in hell."

"_NOOOO!!!"_ Misa screamed.

A gun shot went off.

o o o O O O o o o

Sakura's ear twitched and she glanced up in surprise, frowning.

_What the– What was that?_

_**Dunno. It sounded like some kind of explosion.**_

Her eyes darted to the people all around her. They didn't seem disturbed – unless you counted the fact that they were watching her in shock as she flew by. None of them seemed to hear the splitting 'bang'. Her eyebrows furrowed.

_Hm...it doesn't look like any of them heard it._ _If this truly is a place filled with only civilians, then their hearing isn't as sharp as a shinobi's. Which means, the sound must have been very far away._

_**Good point. I bet you're right.**_

Curiosity getting the better of her, Sakura ran towards the explosion-like noise. A sudden thought occurred to her.

_Maybe Deidara of the Akatsuki got sent here, as well!!_

_**If he did, then we'll strangle him!!**_

_Oh, we'll do much more than strangle him!_ _It's payback time for all the trouble he's caused Naruto and Gaara!!_

_**Damn straight!**_

With that thought alone, Sakura picked up the pace. She hoped with all her heart that is was Deidara. She was going to make him pay.

o o o O O O o o o

Yagami Light and Amane Misa sat frozen on their seats, eyes widened and mouth agape in shock. The gun was inches from Light's head, smoke drifting lazily from it.

"A blank...?" Light murmured, almost too terrified to speak.

"Thank God," Soichiro mumbled, sighed and falling limp in his seat.

"Thank God...?" Light asked shakily. "What do you mean, Dad?"

"Forgive me, you two...," he father replied, voice ragged and exhausted. "This was the only way to end your confinement...Please understand that I only did it because I truly believed that you weren't Kira." He didn't even have the strength to look up at the camera above the rearview mirror. "Did you see that, Ryuzaki?" he asked tiredly. "I did as you said and I'm still alive."

Light and Misa glanced up in shock.

--

L – rather, Ryuzaki –, Aizawa, and Matsuda all stood (or, in L's case, sat) around a monitor, watching the scene unfold. L leaned down slightly to speak into a microphone, his voice becoming garbled.

"Yes, brilliant acting," he mumbled. "In that situation, if Amane was the Second Kira, who can kill with just a person's face, I think we can assume she would have killed you before you shot Light-kun..."

--

Light and Misa stared at the camera, still unable to believe what had happened.

L's strange, computer-generated voice continued.

"_And the same is true if Light-kun was Kira. The Kira I know would kill his own father if need be...it's possible Light-kun may have figured out it was an act before the end, but as promised, I will end both of their confinements."_

--

L studied their reactions to what he was saying on the screen. "And also as promised, though Amane says they were tapes to send to an occult TV show, we do have various pieces of evidence connecting her to the Second Kira. Until every thing is made clear, we will put Amane under surveillance."

"_What?! You still suspect me?!"_

--

"Well," Soichiro said, "you will get to return to your normal life. If you're not guil–"

"_Excuse me, sir."_

Light, Misa, and Soichiro glanced up in surprise. A girl with pink – _pink!!_ – hair was standing outside of the car, knocking uncertainly on the window. Soichiro's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Ryuzaki, do you see this?"

"_No, I don't. What is it? And what was that voice?"_

"There's a girl outside the car," he replied.

A frown tugged at Sakura's lips. She could have _sworn_ she heard someone reply to the man in the car, but no one else's lips moved. And plus, the voice sounded funny, almost like it was over a transceiver, but more scratchy...

"_A girl?"_ There it was again. _"Hm...does she seem suspicious?"_

"She looks innocent enough."

"_...very well. Roll down the window and speak to her, but I must press that you be careful."_

"Understood."

Soichiro reached over the passenger seat to the left side window. He pressed a button, watching silently as the glass slid down. Sakura stared with interest as the window disappeared into the door.

_Whoa. Who'd it do that?_

_**Don't ask me**_.

"...is there something you need?" Soichiro asked, realizing that she wasn't paying attention. Light raised an eyebrow. What was so amazing about a window rolling down.

"Hm?" Sakura said blankly, staring at him. "...oh!" She grinned sheepishly. "Gomen, but um...did you hear an explosion-like sound?"

Soichiro blinked.

"An explosion?" he echoed in surprise. "No. Why?"

Sakura frowned.

"It's strange," she mumbled. "I was running when I heard this noise. It...it wasn't exactly like an explosion, but like a...a 'bang'. I don't know." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Are you sure you didn't hear anything? No one else seemed to have heard it, either."

Soichiro was utterly quiet.

"A 'bang'?" he confirmed, strange thoughts entering his head. _She couldn't _possibly_ have heard the gun go off...could she?_ Unbeknownst to him, his thoughts matched L's very closely. "When did you hear it?"

"Just a moment ago," Sakura replied truthfully. "It was loud and short; it only lasted for a split-second. But it..." She frowned deeply, confusion written out across her face. "I'm not sure _what_ it was."

Soichiro was now little more than uncertain. _There's nothing else it could possibly be, unless someone else fired a gun at close to the same time...No. It can't be that. Only police officers carry guns in Japan._ He wasn't sure what L wanted him to do, but he acted on his own, anyway. "What's your name?"

She blinked, uncertainty flashing in her eyes. He was wearing a police badge-thing, so he couldn't be bad, right? "Sakura."

"Well, Sakura, tell me...did it sound like this?"

Soichiro rolled down his window and shot the gun at the ground. Sakura flinched back from the sound, a hand going to her right ear.

"Yes," she mumbled, staring at the gun. "Just like it. What is that?"

"You don't know?" Light asked in surprise. Sakura sent him a blank look. "You honestly don't know what a gun is?"

"A 'gun'?"

Light and Soichiro exchanged surprised looks.

"Where are you from, Sakura?" his father inquired.

A strange look passed behind her eyes.

"I'm searching for my home, but everyone I ask says that they've never heard of it," she said bitterly.

"Is that so?" Soichiro murmured.

"Hai. I also asked a police man on a horse, but he said the same thing." Soichiro frowned. This didn't sound good.

"What's it called?"

"Konoha, short for Konohagakure."

The three just stared at her. Sakura sighed in defeat, gazing down at the ground. "That's what everyone did before they said they'd never heard of it."

"Er, Sakura," Soichiro tried again. "Do you know what country you're from?" She nodded.

"Fire Country."

They stared again.

"Are you joking?" Light demanded. "Because it's not funny."

Sakura bristled. "It's not a joke!" she snapped. "I'm lost, and I can't find anyone I know!"

Soichiro struggled to find the right thing to do. He wasn't sure what he could possibly–

"_Yagami-san,"_ L cut in.

Sakura's fiery gaze snapped to the mirror, and then to the camera above it a moment later.

"Ah," she murmured. "I was wondering where that voice was coming from."

--

L paused while Aizawa and Matsuda exchanged surprised looks.

"You could hear me?" he asked.

"_Yes,"_ the girl replied, though he still couldn't see her. _"While I was outside of the car, I could hear this man speaking with someone, and none of the others' lips were moving."_

"I see..." _Hm. This girl is a bit strange...I wonder if she has bugs inside of the car...? No. That's not possible._ She had also said the word 'car' strangely, but he chose to ignore tat fact. "Sakura-san, is it?"

"_Hai. May I know your name? I believe he called you 'Ryuzaki'?"_

A small smile flickered on his face.

"Yes. Sakura-san, could you get in the car? I can't see you."

--

Sakura blinked in surprise.

_Ah. The camera angle._

She paused, staring down at the door. ...how was she supposed to open it?

"_Is there something wrong?"_

"Ano...how do I open the door?"

That caught them all by surprise. What else did she not know?

"Oh, the doors are locked," Soichiro said in realization, thinking that that was what she had meant. He pressed a button, and a 'click' sounded. He reached across the seat and popped open the door, pushing it open gently.

Sakura grabbed the door and sat on the seat timidly, closing it behind her. She stared up into the camera.

"Can you see me now?" she asked.

--

L smiled in amusement.

"Yes, Sakura-san." Now that he knew what she looked like, he would be able to identify her if he 'ran into' her again. "Yagami-san, it's best not to shoot the gun any more out the window. Others may hear."

"_Right, Ryuzaki. I'll be more careful."_

"Sakura-san?"

"_Hai?"_

"You said that you are from Konoha and the Fire Country, correct? Which is it?"

Sakura blinked on the screen.

"_Konoha is in the Fire Country."_

"Ah."

He frowned.

--

"_Have you considered that you might have amnesia?"_

Sakura glared at the camera, appalled at the thought.

"I know I don't have amnesia, Ryuzaki-san," she ground out.

"_There's no need to be upset; amnesia isn't something one can control. I would explain why you don't recognize a gun or gunshot."_

"With all due respect, Ryuzaki-san, amnesia is out of the question," Sakura said as politely as she could manage. "I remember everything about my friends and my home; I haven't forgotten a thing."

The red-brown-haired boy behind her seemed shocked that she would speak to the voice in that manner, she noticed from the mirror.

"_Is that so? Then tell me how you noticed that you were lost."_

Sakura sighed.

"I was fighting Akatsuki, got sucked into this big bright 'portal' thing, and I woke up in an alley."

Everyone was silent.

--

"Is this girl for real?" Aizawa mumbled, one eyebrow raised.

"Maybe she hit her head or something," Matsuda suggested. L pondered the thought for a minute.

"No...she seems to be telling the truth," he admitted.

"What?!?" Aizawa called in shock. "You actually _believe_ her crackpot story?!? And what the _hell_ is 'Akatsuki'?!?"

"It's not that I believe it," L disagreed. "It's more...she's either telling the truth, or she _thinks_ she telling the truth."

Realization dawned over the two.

"You think Kira messed with her head?" Aizawa asked. L shook his head.

"Maybe Kira was controlling her, and when he took his power away from her, she lost her memories," Matsuda said. L shook his head again.

"No...I don't believe she has anything to do with Kira," he murmured. "In fact, I'm almost 96% certain that she isn't. But, we can't rule the thought out...interesting."

"So what do we do?" Aizawa inquired.

An odd smile spread on his face. "I'd like to meet Sakura-san."

* * *

Mwahaha!! L and Sakura will meet in the next chapter, so be prepared! :DD


	5. The Fateful Meeting

I'm so sorry for the extremely long wait! I didn't mean for this chapter to take so long! Forgive me! ^^; I hope you all like it! It was a lot of fun to write, and the next chapter will be easier for me to do.

Please read and review! :)

* * *

Sakura was stumped. No, she was _beyond_ stumped.

She followed the three people from the car – Soichiro, Light, and Misa, she learned – into a ridiculously-tall metal building, staring at pretty much everything. Why did this 'Ryuzaki' person want to meet her? She wasn't really _that_ special, was she?

Well, she mused, she might be to them. Shinobi didn't usually come to civilian-only places; plus, they didn't know about _Konoha_! A thought suddenly struck her.

_Oh-no...what if they've never heard of shinobi?!_

_**Oh, come on! They can't be **_**that**_** unknowing!**_

_But they've never heard of Konoha, and it's _the_ largest shinobi village! They haven't even heard of _Fire Country_!_

_**...oh shit. I never thought of it that way.**_

A moment later, her Inner was panicking.

_**OH MY GOD!! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?!? WHAT IF THEY **_**HAVEN'T**_** HEARD OF SHINOBI?!? GAH!! THIS IS HORRIBLE!! HOW ARE WE EVER GOING TO GET HOME?!?**_

Okay, so maybe 'panicking' was an understatement.

Sakura ignored her Inner completely, shoving her to the back of her mind. That was the _last_ thing she needed.

_My life sucks._ she groaned inwardly. She winced slightly when her arm bumped her hip. _And my arm is _still_ broken. Damn it. Why does this crap always happen to _me_?_

Sakura had been ignoring her broken arm for the past however-long it was, letting it swing gently as she walked, but it wasn't until her arm hit her that she noticed the pain again. She was used to ignoring injuries for long periods of time, so it was no big deal. It was just annoying.

On top of that, she had dropped her kunai holster and weapons pouch back in the forest when she was being sucked into the portal. Sakura still had her headband and a few choice weapons hid in various locations on her body, but that was about it.

Soon after they stepped into the building, Soichiro stopped and turned to her. She paused, watching him warily. She had only known him and the other two for about ten minutes, and it was shinobi nature to be cautious of strangers.

"Sakura-san?" He had tacked on the '-san' part shortly after their little road trip to the building began. Sakura was still insanely curious as to how the 'car' had been running. "I need to search you before we go any further. Please don't take it personally," he added, seeing her body tense up. "All visitors have to be searched for safety reasons."

Sakura was still uncertain about it, but she nodded anyway. It couldn't hurt, after all.

"Stand with your legs apart facing the wall," Soichiro instructed.

Sakura turned and did so, bracing her hands on the wall to keep her balance. She felt Soichiro's hands patting carefully on her sides and down her legs as he felt for anything suspicious. She sensed that he was being extra careful, seeing as she was a girl and about half his age. After a minute, he raised back up, nodding to her.

"You're clean."

It took a large amount of self-control to keep herself from smirking. He hadn't found a single thing, even though kunai and shuriken (and the occasional senbon) were hidden all over.

"Follow me," he said, motioning for her, Light, and Misa to come with him.

Soichiro walked to a door marked '**Stairs**' and pushed it open, stepping aside to let them through first.

"What about the elevator?" Light inquired as he passed, Misa right behind him.

"It's out of order."

Sakura raised an eyebrow in confusion, nodding to Soichiro in thanks as she trailed after the other two and began the journey up who-knew-how-many stairs.

_What's an elevator?_

_**Got me by the short ones.**_

Sakura inwardly snorted at her Inner's choice of words. She had no sense of decency or shame (not that Sakura was one to talk). It also seemed that she had finally calmed down from her panic attack only moments earlier. Sakura remained silent — both outwardly and internally — as she ascended the stairs behind Light and Misa, Soichiro on her heels. The stairs seemed to go on forever, but Sakura wasn't complaining. Sure, her arm was broken, and sure, her ankle was _throbbing_, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. If anything, it was like a repeat of her ANBU exams (except without the broken cheek bone).

Sakura began glancing at every floor number they saw as they continued to climb upwards, silently cursing Light and Misa for walking so slowly. The quicker they got up, the quicker she could get off her sprained ankle. (Not that it HURT or anything; not at ALL.)

_......four......five......six......seven..._

_**I could walk faster than this with two broken legs!!**_Inner Sakura yelled, becoming increasingly more irritated as the seconds passed. _**Look at that blond girl! She's already **_**tired**_**!**_

_Inner, shut up._ Sakura ordered, annoyance making her eye nearly twitch. _You're giving me a headache._

_**Pft. Whatever.**_

But nevertheless, she was gone.

Up and up they went, turning corner after corner as they went by floors. It just wouldn't _end_. By the time Soichiro slid past her — with a respectful "Excuse me" — to make his way to the front of their little line, Sakura had counted at least ten floors (starting with the fourth floor) and more than a hundred steps. Light's father opened the door for seventeenth floor and waited for them to enter before him. He fell into step behind Sakura after she went through, going back up to the front a moment later.

He finally stopped in front of a door a couple rooms away from the stairs, Light and Misa coming to a halt as well. Misa's expression clearly showed that she was just as anxious to meet L as Sakura was.

"Can we trust you both to keep this a secret?" Soichiro asked seriously, eyeing both Misa and Sakura.

The kunoichi gave him a 'are-you-shitting-me' look.

"Who the _hell_ would I tell about this?" she retorted. "I've got no clue where I am!"

He looked less than pleased at her choice of words.

"I think we can trust her, Dad," Light reasoned. "If Ryuzaki wants to see her, he must realize she won't go sprouting the news o the world."

With slight hesitation, Soichiro nodded and knocked on the door. It opened.

A man with thick black hair and a beard appeared in the doorway, eyes flickering over Light and Misa. He stopped at Sakura, looking her over carefully.

_He's a civilian._ she thought with faint amusement. _He instinctively knows that I'm different from him, even with his poor senses._

He grunted.

"Come in."

Sakura followed after her three companions, not looking at the unnamed man even when she felt his eyes on her. He shut the door once they had all entered the room. Three people stood — well, one was sitting in an odd position in a chair — in the middle of the room.

"Hello, Sakura-san," the one sitting strangely said, wide dark eyes staring unblinkingly at her.

Sakura nearly had a heart attack.

For a moment, she had thought he was Sasuke.

"Sakura-san?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

"You remind me of someone I once knew," the rosette admitted.

"Oh? And where is he now?"

"...he became corrupted with power and ran away to kill his older brother in revenge for the murder of the rest of his family."

They all stared at her blankly. Now that she though about it, that probably wasn't the best thing to say.

'Hey! You remind of a guy who ran away from home to kill his brother!'

Yep. Smooth, Sakura.

"...did he succeed?" the guy asked, the others in the room looking uncertain.

"Not that I know of," she replied truthfully. "But that's not to say he didn't kill him while I've been gone...No, I take that back. He would never kill his brother unless it was an hour-long epic battle. His ego is too big to except a short fight."

Once again, she received dumbfounded looks.

"...I see." The black-haired man sitting down blinked. "Do you know who I am?"

"Ryuzaki-san, ne?"

He nodded.

"Yes. Am I correct in saying that Yagami-san searched you before allowing you to enter the building?"

"...who?"

"Yagami-san, or Soichiro-san."

"Ah." Sakura nodded. She hadn't known his or Light's last name. "Yeah, he searched me."

"Though not with a metal detector," Soichiro admitted.

_A what?_

"There is one in the second cabinet from the floor," Ryuzaki offered, sweeping his hand towards the desk behind him.

Sakura stared at said desk. It was occupied with computers — all of them much more complicated that she had ever seen (like the computer used to generate names for the third stage of the Chunin Exams) — papers, and cords. Soichiro took something from the second cabinet and walked back to Sakura. She watched him curiously as he held the thing beside her head. Sakura almost jumped out of her skin when it suddenly beeped loudly.

"What the hell was that?!" she demanded, glaring at the thing. They all seemed startled.

"It's a metal detector," Soichiro said in surprise. "It beeps when near metal."

"Yes," Ryuzaki agreed. "Which means that you have metal on or near your head. Has a metal plate been inserted into your brain via surgery?"

_What the–?_

She stared.

"Er, no..."

"Then are you wearing something with metal on it?"

"Well, my headband..."

"Please take it off."

Sakura started in shock.

"Wh-what?!" she stammered.

Ryuzaki watched her with unblinking eyes.

"Please take off your headband."

He may have been a civilian, but that was no excuse; shinobi _never_ remove their headbands unless a mission requires it! Even rouge-nin keep their headbands!

"I can't take my headband off!" the pink-haired female sputtered.

"Why not?" Ryuzaki inquired, studying her intently.

"Shinobi _never_ take off their headbands!" she argued. "It's the one thing that marks us as true ninja!"

"'Shinobi'?" Poofy Hair Guy echoed in disbelief. "'Ninja'?! Little girl, things like that don't exist!"

"Yes they do!" she shot back angrily. "I _am_ one!"

"You are _not_ a ninja!" he yelled. "You've just gotten hit on the head, and now you can't remember a thing!"

"I would know if I had amnesia!" she hissed. "I'm a medic-nin; I heal people!"

"Oh, so now you _heal_ people?!" he snapped. "What else can you do — walk on air?!"

"I can walk on water."

He glared at her.

"This isn't funny, little girl," he growled.

"Stop calling me a little girl!" Sakura shouted. "I'm nineteen, damn it!"

"Are you serious?" a younger-looking one cut in, surprise evident in his tone. "I could've sworn you were fourteen or fifteen."

A vein in her forehead twitched.

_Am I REALLY that short?!_

_**That son of a bitch!**_

Ryuzaki noted that Soichiro seemed to forget about the metal detector completely.

"Listen, asshole!!" Sakura hissed. "I didn't come here to see your ugly face and listen to you bitch at me because your tiny little brain can't comprehend the existence of shinobi! I came here because Ryuzaki-san asked me to, and _he_ might actually figure out how to send me back home! Now, if you're quite finished with your harping, get the hell out of my face!!"

The guy with thick black hair reared back slightly, taken aback by her words. Who knew a nineteen-year-old pink-haired girl knew such colorful language? And moreover, her speech pattern indicated that she was well-educated. Ryuzaki nibbled on his thumb nail.

_Interesting._ "Sakura-san?"

Her eyes cut towards him, and it took a lot of effort to keep Sakura from glaring big fiery holes in the other man's head.

"Hm?"

"You have a rather broad vocabulary."

Sakura snorted, tilting her head to crack her neck and sitting down on a couch by her side.

"I get that a lot."

Ryuzaki paused to let a small smile spread across his face.

"Tell me," he continued. "Are you truly a ninja as you said?" He forced her to lock gazes with him, intending to see if she was lying.

Annoyance sparked in her mint-green eyes, but she didn't object.

"Yes," Sakura muttered. "I don't like repeating myself. I'm a ninja; a shinobi; however you want to look at it."

"I see." He nodded. "And you live in Fire Country, is it?"

"Yes."

"And inside Fire Country is Konoha?"

She found herself calming down.

"Yes, exactly," Sakura murmured. "Finally, someone who can keep up. Konoha — a direct translation of 'leaves' — is my home. The Village Hidden in the Leaves."

Ryuzaki nodded again, his eyes never leaving hers. He still hadn't blinked one time since she entered the room.

"'Hidden Village', you say?" he confirmed. "Are there more of these?"

Sakura nodded, smiling. She liked telling civilians about the great shinobi countries and villages.

"There's a lot of Hidden Villages," she replied. "Konohagakure, Sunagakure, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure, Amegakure, Takigakure, Kusagakure, and Yukigakure are a few. And there's quite a few countries — both shinobi and civilian — as well." The others in the room couldn't seem to believe what they were hearing.

"Is that so? Hm..." Ryuzaki was surprised, even if it didn't show on his face. Sakura seemed to be telling the complete and utter truth; she hadn't told a single lie since entering the room, if his intellect was still sharp. "Sakura-san, could you do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

"Could you lie for me?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Curiosity."

Sakura sighed, shifting her left — momentarily useless — arm absently to readjust the position.

"I get it," she mumbled. "You think I'm lying, but you can't tell if I am or not." Ryuzaki's eyebrows raised slightly. "Well, it won't do any good for me to lie. Even if I did, you wouldn't be able to tell; we shinobi are taught to conceal all lies quickly and effectively to deceive our enemies." She laughed bitterly, catching the look on Poofy Hair Guy's face. "But, of course, now that I've told you this, you won't believe a single thing I say."

Ryuzaki's strange little smile — which creeped Misa out to no end — reappeared.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're quite bright, Sakura-san?"

Sakura smiled.

"I've heard that before, too."

"Ryuzaki," Poofy Hair Guy cut in, "please — _please_ — tell me you don't believe this load of nonsense."

Sakura glared at him but said nothing.

"There's only one way to find out," Ryuzaki said simply. "Seeing as I am unable to decipher truths from lies with Sakura-san, she will have to demonstrate her 'shinobi abilities' to vouch for herself." But even as he said those words, Ryuzaki was split internally. He usually relied on his instinct, and his instinct was telling him that Sakura was speaking only the truth. Reason, however, begged to differ.

Sakura nodded, shooting a smug look at the man's disbelieving expression. "That sounds fair enough," she agreed. "Do you know much about shinobi, Ryuzaki-san?"

"Only what I've read in folk stories."

She stood. "Name the first thing that comes to mind."

"Throwing stars. I believe they are called shuriken?"

Sakura smirked, her hand flashing with unhuman speed to a hidden shuriken under her standard white ANBU elbow protector. She whipped it out, the dirtied metal glinting maliciously in the light.

Both of Ryuzaki's eyebrows shot up, and his eyes zeroed in on the small weapon. Shock crackled in the air.

"I searched you, though," Soichiro objected incredulously. "I didn't find _anything_ on you."

Sakura smirked.

"We're trained to never go anywhere without at least a handful of weapons to defend ourselves with."

"Really?" Ryuzaki inquired, eyes finally leaving the shuriken. "So you have more on you?"

"Depends. Are you interested?"

_Yes._ he answered silently. "How many do you have?"

"Can I see that?" the younger guy at Ryuzaki's side interrupted, looking eagerly at the shuriken.

Sakura arched an eyebrow at him.

"How old are you?" she deadpanned. He laughed.

"Older than you," he teased. Sakura had the feeling they would get along well. "I'm Matsuda, by the way."

"Should a girl as young as you be carrying dangerous weapons?" the other — older — guy grunted. "You could kill yourself."

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I've been handling shuriken and kunai knives since I was five. Literally." He still looked uncertain.

"Don't mind Aizawa," Matsuda remarked with a wide smile. "He's always like this." _Even if she _is_ crazy or lying to us, she's still pretty fun._

"You said 'kunai knives'?" Ryuzaki murmured, eyeing her hand as another smirk appeared.

"Here, Matsuda-san," Sakura said carelessly, handing him the shuriken. "You wanted to see it, right?"

"Thank you!"

"But don't lose it," Sakura warned. "I lost my weapons pouch and kunai holster back at home, so I don't have as many of those as I usually would." He nodded, entranced by the shiny metal death trap.

Sakura — now with her right hand free — reached down into her right boot and pulled out a kunai knife, twirling it lazily on her finger by the ring at the end. She caught it and held it out to Ryuzaki. He stared in fascination at the short dagger-like weapon and took it from her, holding it closely to his face as he examined it.

"It's dirty," he stated. "And the point is dull." Ryuzaki glanced up at her for a split second before returning his gaze to the kunai. "Do you use it often?"

Sakura shrugged.

"I wouldn't know," she replied easily. "I use all of my kunai and shuriken in practice and on the battle field. I don't keep track of individual ones, though."

"I see."

"The points on this are dull, too," Matsuda added, blinking at the shuriken.

"Oh, by the way, Sakura-san..."

Sakura looked back at Ryuzaki, having been distracted by Matsuda seconds earlier.

"I noticed that you have refrained from using your left hand — or even your left arm — at all since the time you arrived." His eyes met hers. "You even handed off your shuriken to Matsuda before reaching for your kunai. Did you do something to it?"

Sakura blinked quietly, lowering her head to stare blankly at her arm.

_**...huh? What's he talking abou—...**_

_...oh._

It took Sakura a minute for the answer to dawn on her. She looked up at Ryuzaki with a sheepish expression, feeling incredibly stupid.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't realize; I guess I kind of ignored it."

"Ignored what?" the man named Aizawa asked, still seeming to mistrust her.

"My arm is broken."

Misa gasped, staring at Sakura as if she were crazy. How could she stand there and smile while calmly talking about a broken arm?! It caught Ryuzaki's attention sharply.

"Your arm is broken?" he asked in surprise. "You need to go to a hospital."

Sakura waved it off — with her right hand.

"I've had worse," she disagreed calmly. "My right ankle is sprained, too, but I didn't really notice it, either. I get hurt like this all the time."

_Maybe _that's_ why she's nuts._ Aizawa thought dryly. _She's been hit too many times in the head._

"That may be, but I must insist." Sakura was surprised by Ryuzaki's serious tone. "Injuries are not to be taken lightly."

_Naruto's really the only one that's ever worried about me..._ Sakura smiled softly. "I appreciate your concern, Ryuzaki-san." She looked down at her left arm, trying to force the last remaining scraps of her chakra into it. It had no effect. _Like I thought._ She sighed, meeting Ryuzaki's gaze once more. "I'll survive, though," the kunoichi assured him for the second time. "It's not as bad as the last time I fought the Akatsuki." Before she could say anything else, Ryuzaki cut in.

"'Akatsuki'?" he repeated. "You mentioned that name before in the car. Going by the way you worded your sentence, I assume that 'Akatsuki' is the name of a group of people like yourself whom you aren't particularly friendly with. Why were you fighting them?"

"You're very sharp," Sakura congratulated. "Yes; Akatsuki is a group of S-Ranked enemy shinobi — missing-nin, to be exact."

"'S-Ranked'? Are they powerful, then?"

"Very." Sakura shifted her position slightly. "They've been out to capture my best friend for seven years in order to abstract a creature that was sealed within him shortly after his birth."

"Alright," Aizawa growled. "I've had enough of this crap. Tell the truth."

Sakura glared at him.

"Perhaps I should leave and attempt to find my _own_ way home," she retorted. "If some damage is done to this place, then it can't be helped."

"Are you making a threat?" he demanded.

Sakura shrugged lazily.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. It's merely a matter of how you interpret my words, Aizawa-san."

"I'm impressed, Sakura-san." She could tell that Ryuzaki was deliberately changing the subject to avoid a fight. "You seem rather intelligent for someone your age." She also noticed that he said 'someone' rather than 'a girl'. He was polite.

"He same to you," Sakura replied. "You are...what? Twenty-four? Twenty-five?"

"Twenty-four." Sakura nodded.

"Shall I go, then?"

Ryuzaki shot down that propose instantly. "Of course not. Please excuse Aizawa; your story _is_ rather 'detailed' to a...'civilian'."

Sakura understood that as a nice way to say that Ryuzaki believed her, but was finding it hard to swallow.

"I understand." Sakura stood, relaxing her posture. She didn't need her broken arm to stiffen up. "What would you have me do, then?" _To prove my honesty._

"Show me something that we wouldn't be able to do."

Sakura smiled.

"Of course."

* * *

It wasn't TOO boring, was it? ^^; I hope not. Anyways, the meeting between L and Sakura has not finished yet! Sakura's finally gonna prove that she's a kunoichi, and Aizawa's gonna eat his words. ;P


	6. Solid Evidence

Hey, everybody! I'm so sorry that it took me so long to update! Please forgive me! ^^;

Anyway, I'd like to ask you all a favor: please go to my profile and look up the link to my DragCave profile! I have four dragon hatchlings and three dragon eggs linked on there, and they'll all die in three or four days if they don't have enough people clicking on them! Please help! Much thanks! :) And please check back every now and then; I get new eggs as soon as my old ones grow up.

Please read and review! :)

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Instead of asking for her weapons back from Matsuda and Ryuzaki, Sakura pulled out another kunai from beneath her white ANBU shin guard (strapped on top of her boot). She locked gazes with Ryuzaki, green eyes alight with amusement that the detective didn't understand.

"Alright," the kunoichi said. "Give me a target to hit."

Soichiro gave a start. "_Indoors_?" he remarked uncertainly.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "How will Ryuzaki-san see if I am outdoors?"

"Explain," the black-haired male demanded curiously, studying her.

"First of all," she began, "we are on the seventeenth floor. Because you don't have the sharpened eyesight of a shinobi, you would be unable to see me clearly. Second, Sochiro-san was instructed to search me before I entered, and you did not reveal your face to me until you were sure I was 'safe'. You went to extreme measures to keep yourself hidden and secure, so that leads me to believe that you are important or someone is out to kill you. And to prevent that from happening" — Sakura smirked at the dumbfounded expressions of Matsuda, Aizawa, Soichiro, Light, and Misa — "you must go outside as little as possible."

Ryuzaki gave a slow, odd-looking smile.

"Very good, Sakura-san," he murmured, the others silent n disbelief. "I never thought you would figure it out. You have impressed me, yet again."

Sakura shrugged. "I pick up on these things," she replied. "I'm the first captain of ANBU, Hunter-nin, Medical Corps, and the Interrogation Corps. I've been reading people and the secrets behind their actions since I was thirteen."

"Interrogation?" Ryuzaki's interest peaked. "I would be very pleased to learn about the tactics you use."

Sakura smiled, unconsciously shifting her still-broken left arm. "But, of course. I'd be delighted to teach you." When the muscles in her left arm spasmed, Sakura glared down at the limb. "Kuso," she muttered, huffing. "Stupid Akatsuki, and their jutsu. Stupid Naruto, and his inability to keep out of danger." She scowled. "Stupid portal!!"

With determination burning fiercely in her glower, Sakura chucked the kunai she was holding straight through the window, not even wincing when the glass shattered and the weapon disappeared very far into the distance. Misa jumped, latching onto Light's arm, who attempted to shove her off.

"...what was your purpose in that?" Ryuzaki asked after a moment, watching as Sakura continued to glare black flames after her kunai knife.

"Anger management," she bit out, nearly tearing her medical pouch off her hip as she dug through it with one hand. She sighed crossly, eye twitching, and yanked it off her belt all together. Ryuzaki caught and stared at the tan pouch when she tossed it to him. "Look through it," she muttered. "I'm having a bit of trouble doing it with one hand, so would you mind helping me out? Look for a dark bottle filled with bright blue pills."

"What are you doing carrying around drugs?" Aizawa immediately demanded.

Sakura cast the full force of her irritation on him, making him falter slightly. "They're _not_ drugs," she hissed. "They're _chakra pills_, and if I'm lucky, I'll have a few so I can _heal my fucking arm_!!"

Ryuzaki didn't pause in his search as he spoke. "Chakra pills?" he murmured. "I've heard the term 'chakra' before, but it was dealing with mental therapy and relaxation. Do these pills aid you in clearing your mind?"

Sakura bit back an annoyed sigh, reminding herself that she didn't need to take out her self-frustration on them. "No, not exactly," she mumbled, breathing in through her nose to calm down. "Chakra is the combination of mental and spiritual energy and physical energy in the human body. Using it in conjunction with hand signs and proper technique, jutsu are created."

"Jutsu? As in jujitsu, the martial arts?"

Sakura paused, frowning. "...no. What is this 'jujitsu'?"

Ryuzaki gave another small smile, eyes still trained on her medical pouch as he rummaged through it. "No, please continue with your explanation. You can learn about jujitsu at a later time."

She watched him with a raised eyebrow for a moment before shrugging slightly, careful not to shift any shattered bones in her left arm. "Fine. Ninjutsu — or Ninja Art — is the form most shinobi use. It allows them to call upon the five elements and use them in battle: air, fire, water, earth, and lightning. Genjutsu — Mental Art — is the art of creating illusions in an opponent's mind, making him or her see things that aren't really there. Taijutsu — Physical Art — requires no chakra. It's strictly hand-to-hand combat, sometimes with weapons. Doujutsu are a bit different; they deal with bloodline abilities, or Kekkei Genkai, of the eyes."

"Of the eyes?" Ryuzaki picked up on the key phrase. "Then are there other Kekkei Genkai that do _not_ deal with the eyes?"

"Hai," the rosette replied, nodding faintly. "There are only a few with the eyes; I only know of three, in fact: Sharingan, Byakugan, and Rinnegan." She snorted quietly. "Not that _I_ have any Kekkei Genkai. Only _special_ families have blood traits unique to their clans."

_Someone's not bitter at all._ Matsuda thought weakly, feeling the need to scratch the back of his head and smile sheepishly.

"Sakura-san," Ryuzaki murmured, halting with his search and staring blankly into the pouch, "I did not find a bottle that matches your description."

Her head jerked up, and her eyes narrowed slightly. "What?" she demanded. "Are you sure? Empty it on the table."

The ravenette dumped the contents of the hand-sized medical bag onto the coffee table before him, being careful not to break anything. Sakura glared at the few items, cursing under her breath.

"What about that bottle?" Matsuda suggested, pointing to a brown-tinted bottle filled with round white tablets that resembled aspirins. Sakura shook her head, sinking into her seat on the couch again.

"No," she grumbled. "Those are blood tablets; they replenish blood when someone is suffering from a deep cut or gash." She sighed, resting her right elbow on the coffee table and pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. "I can't believe this; I left them in my medical research lab! _Stupid!_"

"There's no reason to be so harsh with yourself," Ryuzaki murmured. "Especially when you are injured."

Sakura sucked in a breath through her nose, forcing herself to calm down. "Ryuzaki-san," she bit out between her teeth, "could you hand me that scroll?"

"Certainly." A pure white scroll with the kanji for '_Eisei Jutsu_' printed in thin black handwriting was pushed before her on the table.

Sakura sighed, sitting up again and taking the scroll. She molded her right into the half-tiger seal and mumbled a quiet 'release', the seal on the scroll exploding in a tiny cloud of white smoke. The other occupants of the room froze in place, eyes glued to the puff in amazement.

"How'd you do that?" Matsuda asked before she could open the scroll.

Sakura looked at him blankly. "What? Release the seal?"

"Make the smoke appear," he clarified.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "The smoke appeared when I released the seal," she replied as if it were common knowledge. "That's what _always_ happens when a seal is removed. Have you never seen a seal released before?" When they shook their heads, her eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh, I see. No one here can release a seal."

"I thought you needed this 'chakra' to create jutsu," Ryuzaki objected.

"We do," Sakura agreed. "Removing a seal, though, requires no chakra."

"What else does not require chakra?" he asked.

Sakura though for a moment. "Hm...Tsunade-shishou taught me my medical ninjutsu and how to mold chakra into my fists and feet in order to deliver extremely forceful blows. However...she _also_ trained me to bring up my physical strength." She smiled. "I suppose that means I'm stronger than your average civilian, even without chakra."

"Demonstrate, if you don't mind."

"What in this room would be too heavy for any of you to pick up?" she inquired.

"You're not serious—"

"Quiet, Light," Soichiro silenced. He redirected his attention to Sakura. "This couch would be too much for one man to lift."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Really?" the kunoichi murmured in surprise. "I had no idea civilians were so physically weak."

She received glares from both Light and Aizawa at her comment. "Then show us how _strong _you are," the latter snapped. "Prove yourself."

Sakura merely smiled, standing quietly. And without even blinking, she locked eyes with the man and lifted the couch with one hand and brought it to her shoulder height. Misa choked on a gasp, eyes going wide; the other five either paled or flat-out stared in shock. Sakura dropped the couch carefully, ensuring she wouldn't leave a hole in the floor, and beamed. "Proof enough?"

o o o O O O o o o

The team's reactions had varied, but they all agreed on one point: Sakura wasn't normal, and she _had_ to be telling the truth. There was just no other explanation for the things she was able to do. Amazed beyond belief of her abilities, they had easily spent two or three hours asking question after question about her home and what else she could do. She was happy to answer. Amidst the eager interrogation, Sakura was filled in about a case currently under investigation by them.

"So, let me get this straight." Sakura cast a level look at Ryuzaki and the rest. "You all — save for Misa-san — make up a task force that is attempting to capture a mass murder that goes by the alias of Kira, who kills his or her victims with heart attacks."

Ryuzaki gave a small nod. "Precisely."

Sakura paused, thinking it over. "Has this Kira character ever been spotted?" she asked.

"No."

The kunoichi frowned, thanking Matsuda as he helped her put her arm in a sling from her medical pouch. Her arm now secured in the white material, she pressed her lips in a hard line, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. It was an odd case, even by shinobi standards. People couldn't kill others via heart attack without physical contact, including med-nin. It just wasn't possible. Unless he or she cast a very intricate genjutsu over the victims, scaring them so greatly it _caused_ a heart attack, Sakura couldn't figure out how this Kira person had done it; and even so, she highly doubted it. She was certain she would've sensed such a powerful genjutsu from a mile away.

"There's no way to do it," Sakura finally murmured. "No imaginable, possible way to induce a heart attack in another person without at least touching them."

"But there must be _some_ way," Soichiro disagreed. "Someone's done it, so it must be doable."

Sakura shook her head, eyes staring out the window as her mind ran on double-time. She was so close, she could feel it. It was just on the tip of her tongue...

Her gaze snapped back to Ryuzaki, locking onto his. Slight surprise shown on his face, but other than that, his expression was unreadable.

"There's no possible way to do it," Sakura repeated, as if she had discovered something. "There's no _possible_ way, so there must be an _im_possible way."

"You lost me, kid," Aizawa muttered. "Explain."

Seeing that Ryuzaki seemed to have caught on, she continued. "If there's no possible way to do something, and someone does it, then that person must be impossible." Light's eyebrows shot up as he figured it out as well. "Kira can do the impossible, so Kira must _also_ be impossible."

"I'm still not following," the thirty-or-so-year-old man deadpanned.

Sakura sighed in exasperation. "I'm _saying_ that this Kira person must be unlike you or myself; neither a civilian or a shinobi. _Or_ he or she is getting aid from someone — or something — neither civilian or shinobi."

They all appeared to understand. "Then this man isn't human?" Soichiro inquired.

"Not quite," Sakura corrected. "I'm assuming that Kira is a male, so I will refer to him as one." Ryuzaki gave a brief nod. "He very well might be human; if so, he has an inhuman companion or an inhuman object. Something never heard of in either of our worlds. If that's the case — which I'm about 97% sure it is — then we're dealing with the unknown. We must be very careful while pursuing him."

"I see," Ryuzaki murmured. "I am inclined to agree with you on these points. It's more than we have at the moment."

Sakura smiled. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead closed it, her smile widening.

"Is something the matter?" Ryuzaki questioned.

The rosette gave a smirk, confusing them all. "Want to see something special?" Exchanging wary looks, a few of them nodded, Matsuda being the most eager. "Watch this."

Sakura brought her right hand to her broken left arm, fingers splaying slightly. Her eyes flickered for barely a second, and then a bright green glow enveloped her entire hand. Two or three gasps of shock reached Sakura's ears, and she laughed quietly, concentrating. She lowered her hand to her broken limb, not so much as flinching when an ugly _crack_ split the air. Misa let out a squeak, her voice raising an octave, and her hands flew to cover her mouth. With a satisfied smirk, the light disappeared from Sakura's hand and she began pulling off her sling.

"Don't—"

Matsuda's warning was ignored as her arm fell from the protective cloth, falling to her side. Sakura raised it, studying her hand for a moment as she clenched and unclenched her fist. Then, with an expression that could only be described as triumph, she waved to the other occupants of the room.

"Pretty cool, huh?" she joked.

Light stared at her once-broken arm with wide eyes. "What was _that_?"

Sakura grinned. "My medical ninjutsu. Granted, I probably should have waited five or six more hours to recover more of my chakra, but I had enough. The only toll it'll take on me, is that I'll most likely sleep longer tonight." Her grin fell and a cautious look entered her mint-green eyes. "Speaking of sleeping..."

"You are free to stay here," Ryuzaki replied, catching onto her insinuation. "I myself and Watari sleep here as well, and Misa-san will most likely join us." The blond nodded.

Sakura bowed lowly to display her gratitude. "Arigatou. It would be extremely hard for me to find somewhere else to stay until I can return home."

"All the more reason," Ryuzaki murmured. "If we sent you away, no one would believe your story. You would most likely be arrested for creating such 'impossible tales'. Therefore, you will remain here where your existence will be hidden. Do you have any objections to essentially not existing?"

Sakura shook her head, smiling in amusement. "None."

"Good." His odd smile returned. "To make the best of your stay here, I would like to extend an invitation to join our task force."

Matsuda grinned, and Soichiro nodded in approval. "I accept," the rosette agreed. "I'd be glad to."

"I'm pleased that you would choose so," Ryuzaki said. "I give you my thanks." Sakura dipped her head. "I would like your opinion on a few matters, first off."

o o o O O O o o o

"..."

Sakura and L sat alone in the main room of the task force, a laptop sitting before them on a coffee table covered in papers. On the screen of the laptop was a paused video clip with the word **KIRA** displayed boldly in Gothic format. They were both silent, Sakura's eyes hidden behind a shadow cast by her hair. Her mind swirled in every direction, asking questions and generating its own answers. A large manila folder lay open in the center of the table, all of its contents scattered. Ryuzaki's dark eyes studied the pink-haired girl he sat just inches away from on the couch.

"...what's your interpretation?"

Sakura was silent for a very long time as she gathered her thoughts and every piece of information she had just taken in. She swallowed slightly to wet her rapidly-drying throat before she spoke.

"...after seeing all of this and listening to everything you've told me, I've come to a conclusion." She gazed up at him seriously. "I can't prove it with solid evidence, but I'm almost certain. Light-san is Kira and Misa-san is the Second Kira."


	7. Difference

Finally! The next chapter! I'm so sorry that it took so long; I didn't mean to do that. ^^;

Anyway, I'm creating a joint-account with my friend **Fyreyce** and we will be known as **FEARtheBOREDOM**. I'm not abandoning this account my any means. I'll still update as often as I usually do. (Not very often, though, is it? ...my bad.) And thanks to everyone whose been clicking on my DragCave eggs! Please help by clicking them! (Just eggs and hatchlings; the adults don't matter any more.) Link below:

http : // dragcave. net / user / KouraAkatora

Please read and review! :D

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"It doesn't quite make sense, though," Sakura murmured, taking a drink from her black tea. She and Ryuzaki sat in a small restaurant — the same one he and Light had been in when Soichiro had had a naturally-caused heart attack. To be honest, she was a little surprised that Ryuzaki was out in public. But then again, no one had ever seen his face (minus herself and the task force) so no one would recognize him. Hopefully.

Ryuzaki watching her with dark unblinking eyes as he munched on a painfully sweet dessert. "Explain." His voice was slightly muffled from the cream in his mouth.

Sakura absently took a bite of her dango and another drink, biding her time. After gathering her thoughts, she finally spoke. "Light-san and Misa-san don't seem like the type of people to do something like that," she finally clarified. "I mean, they don't act like murders at all. In fact...well, they seem innocent. But all the evidence points to them, so they must be the culprits." She sighed and dropped her dumplings back onto her plate, placing her elbows on the table and massaging her temples. She closed her eyes and furrowed her eyebrows, deep in thought.

Ryuzaki studied her a moment longer before swallowing his mouthful and loading in another large bite of sugary goodness. Only after he had downed his fourth bite did he reply.

"I felt the same," he agreed. Sakura's eyes opened the tiniest bit and she peered up at him through her lashes, remaining silent. "When Light-kun asked to be confined, I immediately took it as an attempt to steer the spotlight away from himself. I was so certain that he was Kira, but after quite a number of days, he was yelling and begging to be set free." Sakura frowned, lifted her head just slightly to meet his gaze more easily. Ryuzaki frowned as well, staring down into his dessert. "The look in his eye when he begged me to 'see reason'...it was astonishing. In that moment alone, I was nearly ashamed of myself for ever suspecting him."

Surprise flickered across Sakura's face as she lifted her head all the way, studying Ryuzaki with an unreadable expression. It shocked her that he would confide into her his inner turmoil with the situation. He didn't seem like the type of man that easily doubted himself. She watched him as he continued to gaze down into the fluffy white whipped topping smothering his ice cream, sensing that he was seeing something she couldn't. His mine was elsewhere. His eyes, distant and unaware of his surroundings, flashed with something Sakura had never expected to see in him: insecurity.

Sakura felt as if she were seeing the real Ryuzaki beneath all the barriers for the first time. It took her breath away. He looked so much like a normal man, so much like a normal young adult troubled merely by the thought of his mother not liking his new girlfriend instead of the weight of a mass murderer. It was such an amazing glimpse into the unprotected layers of his unconsciousness.

And it was all just a glimpse.

That moment lasted for no more than a split-second, but it had seemed like an eternity. And even though it had been such a short experience, Sakura had the distinct feeling she would remember it for the rest of her life.

Ryuzaki looked up at Sakura with his usual wide-eyed blank expression, a spoonful of cream halfway to his mouth, but he paused. His eyebrows raised a fraction of an inch at the awestruck look on her face and his head tilted slightly to the side in confusion.

"Sakura-san?"

She blinked, allowing a carefully neutral mask to slip into place as she returned to the present. She held his gaze for a long moment before locking away the inner-most emotions she was sure were showing in her eyes and throwing away the key. Her eyes went to her dango as she picked up her last stick and popped it into her mouth, chasing it down with a swig of black tea and then a second. Ryuzaki hesitated, searching her face for the emotion he had seen heartbeats earlier. He wanted to say something. He wanted to ask her why such a tender smile had been glowing in her eyes. He wanted to ask her why he had admitted his doubts to her and no one else. He wanted to do so many things, but was unable to.

Instead, he turned his head away and looked out the window through half-lidded eyes, mind drifting as he ate his ice cream absently. Throughout the rest of their visit to the small shop, neither spoke or attempted to make eye contact. They both stared off into space and got lost in their own thoughts, each trying to figure the other out. And as Ryuzaki finished the last of his treat while watching the sky light up from early morning gray to a timid pale blue, a single coherent thought crossed his mind that he didn't have an answer for. The fact that he was unable to explain something troubled him deeply.

_Why is Sakura-san so different from every other member of the task force?_

o o o O O O o o o

It was a long day, and the team was getting nowhere. Sakura sighed loudly, flopped out on the couch with her right arm splayed across her eyes. Matsuda began nodding off but caught himself, sucking in a sharp gust of air through his nose. Aizawa glowered at the computer screens, irritation settling in. Misa huffed and pouted in one of the armchairs, crossing her arms and crossing one leg over the other in a ladylike manner. Light ran a hand through his hair, slumping back against his computer chair. Ryuzaki, who occupied the seat to his left, remained staring at the screens and nibbling on the tip of his thumb nail.

Two hours earlier, Misa had spilled some nasty-sounding 'fat-free' drink all over the main desk and fried two or three of the computers. After a lot of yelling and groaning, the task force — and Watari from his station elsewhere — had set to work rechecking every single file in the system to make sure none of them had been damaged when the computer shut off halfway through running a couple dozen programs. So far, everything was good, but they still had to be certain.

Sakura let her mind wander to her friends back at home. She vaguely wondered if she would ever see them again.

She also wondered if she would ever want to leave this place in order to see them again.

o o o O O O o o o

Tsunade stared sightlessly out the window of her office, mind graciously blank from the numbing effects of the alcohol. Unfortunately, however, she couldn't forget what had happened, no matter how much sake she downed. She couldn't forget the look in Naruto's eyes when he said that Sakura had been sucked into that _thing_. It broke her heart again just thinking about it. A few silent tears slid down her cheeks, but she remained absent and unmoving. She was like an empty shell. Sakura had been her dear beloved daughter in all ways except blood. She just couldn't except it. It was like losing Dan and Nawaki all over again.

A quiet knock came at the door, but she didn't react. After a moment, it opened and in stepped her assistant, Shizune. The dark-haired woman gazed sadly at her Hokage.

"...Tsunade-sama...?"

The blond-haired woman said nothing. She swallowed.

"Tsunade-sama...please, say something."

Still no reply.

She shifted her eyes away, biting her lips before looking at her again. She stepped toward her, gripping onto Tonton tightly in her arms. Even the little pig seemed to understand the gravity of the situation.

"We need to act as soon as possible," she tried again. "The Akatsuki are most likely going to come after Naruto again. I can't believe they'd pass up this chance now that you've gotten so..._passive_."

Her blank honey-colored eyes slowly shifted toward the other woman. She was silent for a long time before she finally spoke.

"Shizune...assign the ANBU to protect Naruto..." The dark-haired female perked up slightly as she caught a short glimpse of her master's former self. "...find me Uchiha Sasuke."

Shock crossed her face and she struggled to speak.

"M-my lady?"

Tsunade's eyes became hard, resembling chips of ice. "Find me Uchiha Sasuke. I want him brought into my office."

"B-but, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune objected. "He is the enemy!"

"I don't care," the woman snapped. "I want him _now_. Send out Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, Shino, and Kakashi to go get him. Tell them not to attack him, but to only defend themselves if need be."

"T-tsunade-sama?" Shizune said shakily. "Wh-what are you—"

Tsunade glared out the window, as if imagining the face of the Akatsuki Leader who had taken away her precious daughter. "I want his ass in this room _now_!" she demanded, eyes flashing with the fierce determination signature of the Godaime Hokage. "He's the only one strong enough that I can order around to do this!" She abruptly stood and clenched her fists. "Kakashi's strong, but not as strong as the Uchiha brat. Naruto's on an equal level with him, but we have to protect him from the Akatsuki. Sasuke's the only other option."

"What—"

Tsunade glanced over her shoulder at Shizune with a fire in her eyes the woman had only seen a few times in her entire life.

"He's the only one that can bring Sakura back."

o o o O O O o o o

"Leader-sama."

Pein glanced over his shoulder, ringed gray eyes steely. He stood before a gigantic window in his 'office' of the main Akatsuki base, having been staring out at the cold metallic village of Amegakure before hearing his name. Kakuzu stood in the doorway with his oddly-colored eyes fixated on his Leader, a large dark wooden desk covered in papers between them.

"What is it, Kakuzu?" Pein demanded. "You and Hidan were to be stationed at the base in the eastern-most lands of Fire Country, were you not?"

"We were," Kakuzu agreed, dipping his head respectfully. "And you also ordered us to check in with Konohagakure every seven hours to see what they were doing. The last time we cast henge and infiltrated, Konoha had become active."

"Active?" Pein's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How long ago was this?"

"Nearly six hours ago," he replied. "Hidan will be going in alone in an hour. I traveled here as quicky as I could."

"Why did you not contact Konan and have her ask me to open a mind connection?" He didn't sound happy at all. All Akatsuki members could open mental connections with one another, but they couldn't directly contact Pein; he had to open it himself.

"I had some concerns about doing that, Leader-sama," Kakuzu explained, treading carefully for he knew he was walking on thin ice.

"Such as...?"

Kakuzu met Pein's eyes evenly, showing no fear or doubt. "I do not trust Tobi, and I feared he would overhear if we spoke mentally."

Pein turned to face him completely, expression hard. "Explain."

It took only a heartbeat for Kakuzu to gather his thoughts and decide what exactly he was going to tell him. "He is too foolish," he murmured. "He displays too little power and does nothing to aid Akatsuki. You must have some reason for keeping him around, and if it is not too much to ask, I would like to know why. I believe it will help me work more easily with Tobi. But honestly" — Kakuzu blinked to wet his rapidly-drying eyes — "right now, I feel Tobi is planning to do something against Akatsuki."

Pein studied him for a long moment, lips pressed in a hard line. His aura was powerful and suffocating. Kakuzu didn't flinch or even blink again, but a small bead of sweat ran down the side of his temple. And then, Pein spoke.

"You are far too perceptive," he remarked dryly. "I assumed Itachi would be the first to confront me, but he has not as of yet. I suspect he figured it out very early on, though." His gaze pierced his subordinate. "I will give you two options, Kakuzu." the man gave a small nod, preparing himself to be threatened by the intimidating man before him. "You may keep this information to yourself for the time being and react however you see fit when the time everything is revealed comes," Pein murmured. "Or...you may pass this along to anyone else you deem worthy, and I will give you five days before informing Tobi that you figured it out."

Kakuzu was shocked. He was allowed to tell the other his suspicions — now _confirmed_ suspicions — and Leader-sama would even give him five days to go into hiding or find some way to protect himself from Tobi's wrath? There was only one reason he could think of that explained it all.

Tobi was the real mastermind of Akatsuki from the shadows, he was only pretending to be a hopeless idiot, he was actually quite a bit more powerful than even Pein, and Pein was trying to get rid of the masked man.

o o o O O O o o o

'Tobi' sat in the dining area of a smaller Akatsuki branch base in the northern lands of Fire Country, irritating Deidara to no end. He, the blond, Sasori, and Zetsu — Madara's new partner after Sasori was brought back — had been assigned to watch the skies of Konoha and capture any messenger birds (or other animals) that were sent into or out of the village.

Itachi and Kisame had been assigned an Akatsuki branch base in the southern lands of Fie Country, near the Wind Country boarder, and I was their duty to stop any shinobi sent from Sunagakure. It was widely known that the Sand and Leaf were close allies; Konoha wouldn't likely receive help from any other hidden village besides Suna. Pein and Konan remained in the main Akatsuki base in Amegakure, just slightly west of the Fire Country boarder. They were ensuring no Konoha shinobi or civilians attempted to evacuate the village. They had them surrounded. In two days' time, all four groups were going to launch attacks from every direction.

Madara had no doubts in his mind that they would have an easy victory. Pein could destroy the whole village by himself, so when you threw in the rest of the Akatsuki and Uchiha Madara, things didn't look so great for Konohagakure.

"But Tobi wants to ride sempai's _biiiiird_!!" he whined, stretching out the last word for more effect.

The blond glared deathly daggers at him. "Shut up, Tobi, yeah!" he snapped. "We've got a job to do, yeah!"

"But it's so _boring_!" he complained, crossing his arms and pretending to pout.

"Tobi, be quiet," Sasori ordered icily, glowering at the masked man and rubbing his temples. "You two idiots are giving me a headache."

"Sasori-san is so mean!" he grumbled.

"Enough, Tobi," Zetsu spoke up, sprouting from the wall.

Madara glared at the bicolored plant-man behind his mask, though went silent nonetheless. Zetsu was the only one besides Pein and Konan (and probably Itachi) who knew his true identity. He knew better than to speak to him like that. And if he didn't, well, Madara was just going to have to make it clear to him. He didn't mind the others treating him like the brainless fool he was pretending to be, but not the ones that knew who he was.

o o o O O O o o o

No more than ten minutes after Tsunade had given Shizune the order, a team was assembled at the Konoha gates. Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, Shino, and Kakashi were packed and ready, just as she had said. Their expressions were grim. Even Akamaru was silent, sensing the gravity of the situation even though he didn't know why they were so serious.

"Kakashi," Tsunade said in a clipped tone, "you are the captain of this team. If something happens and you must return to the village or leave the team for any amount of time, Neji is to be made captain." Kakashi and Neji both nodded. Her honey-colored eyes studied each of them intently, no trace of her usual alcohol-induced haze evident even though she was still technically drunk. She was thinking clearly. "Uchiha Sasuke is to be brought back as a temporary ally," she ordered. "You will not attack him; I give you permission to defend yourselves if necessary, but you are to try your best not to injure him. Explain to him that I have a job for him, and I will grant full admittance back into the village whenever he chooses with no strings attached so long as he does not attack our people in return for carrying this out. Is this understood?"

A chorus of 'hai's answered her.

"Tsunade-sama," Kiba spoke up. She glanced at the brunette. "Can I...can I ask why you need him so badly?"

She said nothing for a moment, and then replied, "No, you may not."

Kiba didn't flinch, but it was close. Shikamaru voiced his thoughts.

"Are you sure no one else can do it?" he confirmed. "If this about Sakura—"

"I _said_," Tsunade interrupted with a hiss, "that you may not ask questions."

Shikamaru held her gaze for a long time before looking away, catching the 'back off' message.

Kiba and Shino exchanged an uneasy glance — at least, Kiba was uneasy; he couldn't tell if Shino was or not. Neji stood quietly, eyes on Shikamaru, while Kakashi studied his Hokage.

"We will bring him," the Copy Ninja said after many long tense heartbeats of silence. "You have my word."

Tsunade met his gaze and gave a curt nod.

"See to it that you do."

All five bowed before disappearing with the speed and silence only a shinobi could attain. Tsunade stared at the spot where they had been seconds before, wondering if they would succeed. She hoped they would, or else they'd never see Sakura again.


	8. What's Done is Done

I'm so sorry about the enomous wait! My stupid computer got a virus on it so I was SOL for a long time. But thankfully my dad FINALLY GOT OFF HIS ASS AND FIXED MY LAPTOP. The thing's had a virus on it for almost a year! Grr...stupid AntiVirus1 virus.

But anyway!

Here's the next chapter. I know it seems kinda filler-ish, but it's not; this crap all had to be said so the story would make sense. It bored the hell out of me to write it, but oh well. The next chapter will (hopefully) be more interesting. Sorry again! ^^'

Please read and review!

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Sakura placed her hands on the back of Ryuzaki's computer chair, leaning toward him to peer over his shoulder at the dozens of screens. Her collarbone hovered just inches above the junction of the back of his neck and his spine. Most of the task force was shocked that she would get so close to him — plus the fact that she'd been splayed out on the couch less than a heartbeat earlier; they hadn't seen her move. Ryuzaki, on the other hand, didn't react at all and instead continued to stare unblinkingly at the computers, nibbling at the tip of his thumbnail.

"Are you finished checking all the files?" Sakura asked, eyes on the long strings of information flashing by.

"Yes," he replied, not looking at her. "Fortunately, nothing was lost and/or damaged."

Sakura smiled, opening her mouth to say something along the lines of, "That's good", but was cut off by Aizawa.

"No thanks to _you_," he muttered, shooting an icy look at the kunoichi.

Ryuzaki said nothing, wisely choosing not to take sides. Sakura scowled over her shoulder at the man that had spoken.

"Oi," she objected. "I don't know anything about these damn computers. We've got a couple back home for the hospital and the third stage preliminary rounds of the Chunin Exams — when it's held in Konoha, that is — but they're nothing like these. These can do much more — like that EntranceNet thing you mentioned. They go way over my head."

"It's _Inter_net," Aizawa retorted.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh, what_ever_."

"What all do your computers do?" Soichiro inquired.

"And what's a 'Chunin Exam'?" Matsuda added.

"We can store word documents in them," the girl explained. "We use them mostly to keep up with which hospital patients are in which rooms, but sometimes for other things, too. Like for the Chunin Exams, we enter in all the names of the candidates and scramble them up, and then it chooses two of them and displays them on a screen in the arena." Sakura smiled at Matsuda. "And as for what a Chunin Exam is, I'll start from the beginning so it makes sense."

Both Ryuzaki and Light turned around in their computer chairs to pay attention, forcing Sakura to stand up straight.

"When a kid wants to be a shinobi, he or she is enrolled into the Ninja Academy at age five. The kid spends however many years the instructors deem necessary studying everything about the shinobi way of life. Almost all graduate at age twelve. Then, they are all split up into 3-man cells and are assigned a Jonin sensei." Seeing their confused looks at the word 'Jonin', she continued, "I'll explain in a minute. Anyway, all the 3-man cells are tested by their sensei. Only three teams get to pass, and the rest are sent back for one more year at the academy; some even drop out completely and go for a civilian education. The three passing teams are classified as Genin. After completing so many missions, the sensei may choose to enroll his or her team in the Chunin Exams, which are held twice a year. In these exams, Genin are given the chance to graduate up to the next level — Chunin.

"Once a Chunin, a shinobi is no longer a part of a 3-man cell unless he or she chooses to be. Then, after completing so many more missions of a higher rating, the Chunin may sign themselves up to take the Jonin Exams — which is also held twice a year. As implied, the Chunin have the chance to elevate to Jonin level. Some shinobi that take the test become Special Jonin instead, which is basically the midpoint between Chunin and Jonin. From there, they can take the ANBU or Hunter-nin tests, both of which are only held once a year; you can't take both in the same year, either."

"But once you become a Genin," Matsuda said, "you're already a ninja, right? So why take all those tests?"

"To get more challenging missions and help out your village," Sakura answered. She gave a laugh as she continued. "And to get a nicer pay check. Genin don't get paid much."

"How much more challenging are the missions?" Light asked, speaking for the first time in hours.

"Genin can do D-rank, or sometimes C-rank," she replied. "D is the easiest, like walking dogs or pulling weeds." At their disbelieving looks, Sakura smiled. "Some people are too old or weak to do it on their own, so they pay shinobi to do it for them. Most are just too lazy, though. Anyway. Chunin do C-rank missions, Special Jonin do B-rank, and regular Jonin can do B and A-rank. ANBU, Hunter-nin, and occasionally the Kage themselves can do any of these, but they mostly carry out S-rank missions."

"'S-rank'?" Ryuzaki echoed. "You said that yesterday when talking about the Akatsuki. You also said they were extremely powerful, so S-rank missions must be incredibly dangerous, correct?"

"Hai," Sakura agreed. "Many are even suicide missions." She smiled bitterly. "Tsunade-shishou likes to call those S+ missions. I've never been on one, but my sensei Kakashi has actually survived more of them than I can count."

"You said this Kakashi person is your sensei?" Ryuzaki murmured. "Was he your sensei from your Genin days, then?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I chose to stick with my three-man cell; Kakashi is my teammate now instead of my sensei, though. I believe I mentioned someone named Sasuke before, right?" Ryuzaki nodded. "Sasuke was my teammate, but he abandoned the village and became a missing-nin."

"Do you miss him?" Matsuda asked carefully. "I mean, when you talked about him, it sounded like you hated him, but…"

Sakura sighed, running a hand through her hair. "That obvious, huh?"

"You suck at controlling your emotions," Aizawa deadpanned.

"Pretty much," Light agreed.

"Geez," Sakura muttered. "I thought I had gotten better at that…" She shook her head bitterly, crossing her arms. "…yeah. I still miss him. I loved him, after all."

Misa's eyes seemed to glow as she jumped up, clasping her hands together. "That's so wonderful!' she declared, smiling widely as if she knew the feeling. "Did he love you, too?!"

Sakura smiled sadly. "No."

Shock crossed the blond's face, making her look as if she'd just been slapped. _"What?!"_ she choked out. "How can you be sure?!"

Sakura's eyes grew distant. "He always called be annoying and a burden," she began. "He said I was useless and good-for-nothing." Light's eyes flickered briefly to Misa, the words striking close to home. "And the worst part? He was absolutely right." Her laugh was cold. "When I tried to stop him from leaving, I swallowed my pride and out-right begged him. But it still wasn't enough. He knocked me out and left me on a stone bench." Misa gasped. "He even had the nerve to thank me before he did it. He said: 'Sakura. Thank you for everything.' And the next thing I knew, I was waking up with hypothermia the next morning."

Misa was suddenly in front of Sakura with tears in the corners of her eyes, holding the other girl's hands in her own. "I'm so sorry," she apologized, looking about ready to bawl. "That's so mean! He's such a jerk!"

Sakura blinked, staring wide-eyed at the blond. She momentarily forgot that this woman was supposed to be the Second Kira. She just reminded her so much of Ino. The rosette smiled in appreciation.

"Yeah?" she laughed. "I've always had a problem with falling for arrogant assholes."

Light rolled his eyes, turning back around in his chair so he wouldn't have to listen any longer.

"Alright, enough of this," Aizawa cut in.

Misa puffed out her cheeks and glared almost childishly at him, while Sakura shot him a frosty look.

"Sakura-san," Ryuzaki spoke up, asking the first thing that came to mind so she wouldn't start yelling at Aizawa, "you graduated the Ninja Academy at age twelve, did you not?"

"I did."

"Did you graduate at the top of your class?"

Sakura smiled. "I did not."

Most of them perked up in surprise.

"You didn't?" Matsuda said in disbelief.

She shook her head. "Nope." She paused, appearing to think for a moment. "Give me a second; I'll be right back."

"Where are you—"

Soichiro's objection broke off. She had already disappeared. It took a few minutes, but eventually they saw her reenter the room, something in her hand.

"I always keep these on me," she explained, unfolding two small squares of paper — or was it? — and smoothing them out. "I tape them to the underside of my shin guards."

Sakura still wore the black top and pants of her ANBU clothes, but she had removed the white guards and her weapons the previous night before going to sleep. (She now occupied the room beside Misa's.) She smiled gently at the two things in her hand before offering them to Ryuzaki. He took them; they were photographs. The rest of the task force — and Misa — gathered around to see.

The first was clearly a few years older than the other. It showed the original Team 7, the same picture all three of her boys possessed. The second was of everyone minus Sasuke, but including Sai and Yamato.

Misa beamed brightly at Sakura, pointing out the kunoichi in both pictures. The other girl gave a small laugh in return, nodding.

"Yep," she agreed. "That's me."

"You look so much happier in this picture," the blond noted, indicating the photo of Team 7. "And even though you're smiling in the other one, you look sad." She gazed at her with wide, curious eyes. "How come?"

Sakura's eyes flickered as she stared at her pictures. Then, she lifted a finger and tapped the first one. "Before." She hesitated for barely a heartbeat before tapping the other. "…after."

Only one person understood. Ryuzaki pointed blatantly at Sasuke in the first picture. "Sasuke-san, right?"

Sakura's eyebrows shot up. "How'd you know?"

"His expression is one of a boy that is brooding and arrogant," he replied bluntly. "And also when we met, you said I reminded you of him. He is the only one in your Genin team photo with dark hair."

Her eyebrows rose further. "How did you know this was my Genin team photo?"

"Because you look to be roughly twelve years old in it, and you said that Genin are placed on 3-man cells with a Jonin sensei. I see three twelve-year-olds and an older man."

"Kami, she remarked. "You really _are_ a genius, huh? I'll never catch up."

Ryuzaki gave a slow, wide smile that creeped Misa out. "Don't let it get you down," he said simply. "Take comfort in the fact that there are many people in this world — and yours — that will never attain your level of intelligence."

"Yeah," Sakura laughed. "I can always rely on all the dumbasses to remain dumbasses."

"_That's_ him?" Misa interrupted, puffing out her cheeks again as she jabbed a manicured nail at the twelve-year-old version of Sasuke.

"The one and only."

She huffed. "He looks like such a jerk!"

Sakura snorted. "Right on the money."

"And that is Kakashi-san?" Ryuzaki pointed at said man in both pictures. "Your sensei?" She nodded again. Ryuzaki laid the pictures out on his knees, which were drawn up to his chest, and used both pointer fingers to tap Naruto's face in both. "Then who is this?"

Sakura-s expression grew soft. "Ah," she murmured, smiling like a mother would to her baby. "That's Naruto-kun."

Misa immediately grasped the suffix. "-kun?"

"Yeah," Sakura agreed gently. "My brother in every way except blood."

The modal/actress looked slightly less excited, having been hoping romance was going on between Sakura and Naruto.

"What about him?" Ryuzaki questioned, pointing at Sai in the second picture. "His expression is odd and he slightly resembles Sasuke-san. And even though you and Naruto-san are smiling, you both appear to be glaring at him."

Sakura scoffed at Sai's fake smile. "That's Sai," she grunted. "He's literally emotionless; he was trained to get rid of all emotion, as Naruto and I tried to help him. He has a tendency to give some rather unflattering nicknames to people. He's…he's Sasuke's replacement on the team issued by the Council." Ryuzaki glanced up at her, hearing the sadness in her voice. "…anyway. I brought these pictures out for a reason." She met Ryuzaki's gaze. "You remember the implied question, yes?"

"Yes." They had wanted to know why she didn't graduate at the top of her class.

"Well," Sakura began, "I _did_ graduate with the highest scores out of all of the girls, but not overall. Three guys — technically four — topped me. The first is a guy that didn't become a Genin in my year. I have no clue who he is." Matsuda laughed at her dry, blunt tone. "The second, who had grades slightly better that Mystery-san, is this guy." She touched a face in the second photo. "Aburame Shino. And the third one — the one who graduated with the highest scores overall — is Sasuke." Misa smiled.

"And the technicality?" Ryuzaki inquired.

Sakura's fingers brushed over another face. "Him. Nara Shikamaru." An amused gleam entered her eyes. "He actually graduated with the second _worst_ scores of all, the worst being Naruto."

"Second _worst_?" Matsuda echoed, staring at her like she was crazy. "How is _he_ smarter than you?"

Sakura laughed. "The only reason his grades sucked so much," she explained, "is because he's lazy as hell. He always fell asleep whenever Iruka or any other Ninja Academy sensei passed out a test. He never took the tests and left them blank because he took naps instead."

Matsuda laughed as well. "Sounds like my kind of guy."

Sakura smirked. "He's actually a genius." She looked at Ryuzaki. "Like you. The last time he had an IO test was when he was twelve, and even then it was over 200."

Misa looked absolutely horrified, and the others save for Ryuzaki were shocked.

"T-two _hundred_?" Matsuda stammered.

"That's off the charts!" Soichiro mumbled.

"And just think," Sakura continued. "That was seven years ago; he's nineteen now. If it was over two hundred then…?"

Aizawa shook his head in disbelief. "Incredible."

"Yep," she agreed. "he was the only one to become a Chunin during our first time taking the exam. I passed when I took it my second time a year and a half later; Neji, Tenten, Lee, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Shino, and Kiba passed with me." She pointed out each one as she said their names. "During that time, Sasuke had already left and Naruto was off training with Jiraiya-san" — she indicated the white-haired man — "so I had to team up with Ino and Choji, Shikamaru's former teammates. They took it a third time with Hinata" — she pointed to her — "six months later, and all three of them passed. The next year, Neji, Temari, and Kankuro passed their Jonin Exams. About three months after that, Naruto got back from training, leaving him as the only Genin. He retook the Chunin Exam when I took my Jonin Exam, when we were sixteen. The next year, I passed my ANBU exam and he passed his Jonin Exam. Then they year after that when we were eighteen, I passed my Hunter-nin Exam, but Naruto wasn't allowed to take the ANBU Exam."

"Why not?"

"I told you before that the Akatsuki were after my best friend so they could remove a creature from him that had been sealed inside him at birth, yes?"

Ryuzaki, Light, and Aizawa nodded. Soichiro looked thoughtful, nodding with them after a second, while Matsuda and Misa shrugged, signaling that they didn't remember.

"Well, anyway," Sakura continued, "he's the one that the Akatsuki is after. The creature inside him in an enormous chakra demon — the Kyubi Kitsune. And because of that, the Council decided that they didn't want him in any position of high power."

"A nine-tailed fox demon?" Aizawa reconfirmed, eyebrows furrowing. "What the hell kind of world do you live in?"

Sakura shrugged "It doesn't seem all that messed up to us," she replied. "We're used to it."

"Sakura-san," Ryuzaki said, studying her features closely because he had an idea as to the answer of the question he was about to ask, "why do you keep these pictures with you? Wouldn't you rather frame them and have them someplace safe so you won't damage them?"

A strange expression crossed her face and her eyes grew distant. "I always keep them with me," she murmured, repeating what she had said earlier. "That way…if I'm ever killed on a mission, I die with all of my friends close."

Ryuzaki went silent, staring her down for a long moment as the others mumbled to one another. He paused, then opened his mouth to speak, but was beat to it by Misa.

"That's so sweet!!" she gushed, wiping at her eyes. Sakura looked at her, gaze unreadable. "So are you in danger a lot?"

"…sometimes." Sakura sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Do you fear for your life?" Ryuzaki asked.

She gazed at him seriously. "Every waking moment. Every breath I take is another breath I get to keep in relief that I haven't been killed. Assassins are very common amongst shinobi, and I've had quite a few attack me in the middle of the night."

They all watched her quietly, not sure how to reply to that. A moment later, Sakura did the talking for them.

"You have no idea what it's like," she murmured, staring absently at the pictures. "Constantly running and fighting; always sleeping with one eye open and learning to never let your guard down. In the shinobi lifestyle, you can never just take a vacation. That's one of the most dangerous things you can possibly do. But the worst part is when you give your all to protect your village, but it ends up getting destroyed anyway and some of your best friends are hurt seriously in the process because you're too incompetent to realize that you put them in even more danger."

She heaved a heavy sigh, smiling bitterly as she looked back up at Ryuzaki.

"You see, my Hunter-nin status isn't normal," she explained. "My official title is Hunter-nin Medical Support Specialist. The only reason I passed my ANBU and Hunter-nin Exams is because Tsunade-shishou convinced the proctors that I could provide extremely useful medical backup on the most dangerous missions. I'm not even an official Hunter-nin or ANBU; my own strength wasn't good enough to get me in. All I do on the missions is heal my comrades, stay far away from the fight, and occasionally defend myself if needed." She snorted. "It's pretty insulting, actually. It's like they're trying to say: 'Oh, you're not good enough to join, but we'll let you tag along and observe how the _real_ shinobi do it'."

Ryuzaki considered this for a moment before giving a small nod.

"That does seem a bit undermining," he agreed. "Are there many others in your position?"

Sakura shook her head. "I'm the only one."

Misa, sensing the girl was about to get angry, threw a question from a different direction.

"Um…do you have any more pictures?"

Sakura glanced at her in surprise before smiling. "A few," she admitted. "But they aren't of large groups like these. Would you like to see them?"

Misa brightened. "Yes, please!"

Sakura gave her a nod and disappeared, returning a moment later with at least half a dozen more photos. As she went through various pictures of her and her friends sharing a few laughs — like Naruto getting the life scared out of him by Kiba while Sakura and said brunette howled with hysterics — Ryuzaki studied the girl. He tried to pinpoint her position amongst them all, but was unable to; she was just too strange. She wasn't anything like any of the other task force members, and he didn't seem to feel quite the same way about her, either. He wondered why he'd felt his blood run cold when Sakura mentioned the assassins that came after her. Of course he was worried, but it had been stronger that he'd thought possible. His heart had clenched tightly in his chest like he was having a heart attack, and his throat had gone dry. He'd found himself at a loss for words.

Ryuzaki pondered silently about these things, perturbed to discover that he couldn't answer the questions any more than he could answer the one he'd thought of in the little restaurant. It didn't sit well with him, and he knew one thing for sure:

He had to know more about her. He had to find out all of her secrets or he'd never be able to sleep again. She was just too damn interesting, and he wasn't about to pass her by.

o o o O O O o o o

Kiba's eyes suddenly widened and Akamaru gave a loud bark. The other four members of the team instantly looked up, tense with anticipation.

"I've got his scent!" the Inuzuka called, lifting his nose higher into the air to take a deep whiff.

They darted to his side immediately, Kakashi's summoning dogs sniffing as well. Pakkun nosed the approaching breeze, grunting after a moment.

"That's Sasuke, alright," the little pug agreed. "The scent is stale and probably a week or two old, but it's still there."

"Good job, Kiba," Kakashi said with a nod to the boy. "Can you tell what direction he was headed?"

Kiba took another deep breath, not particularly enjoying the sour indication that marked the presence of Uchiha Sasuke. "Northeast, I'd say," he replied. "Toward Lightning Country, east of Kumogakure."

"If the scent is a week or two old, then he's probably already there by now," the Copy-nin noted. "Is there a trail you can follow, or is his scent only in this one spot?"

"We've got a trail," Kiba confirmed. "A good one, too; he's probably got two or three people with him, going by the size alone."

Kakashi glanced at Shikamaru. "What do you think?"

The Chunin squeezed his eyes shut and furrowed his eyebrows as he formulated a plan. The others remained completely silent, knowing that the slightest distraction could cause the brunette to loose his train of thought. Not even a minute later, his eyes snapped back open.

"Alright," Shikamaru finally said. "We'll follow the trail to wherever it leads, and once we're close enough that Neji can see them with his Byakugan — which is easily out of chakra-sensing distance, thankfully — we'll set the plan I've just come up with into action." A small almost sarcastic smile twisted on his lips. "So listen up, because we don't have any room for screw-ups. Here's the plan."


	9. Only Human

This chapter is a bit shorter than the last one, but it's actually longer then my usual chapters. So there.

I got it out as quickly as I could. Sorry! ^^' I also apologize to the people that are reading my other stories as well; I'll have those chapters out soon, too! I have a feeling that this is the next story I'll finish, but I'm not sure. _SOH_ is coming in a close second; as soon as I get off my ass and write all the boring crap for it, I can finally move along to the good stuff. :D

Please read and review!

* * *

One day.

'Tobi' stared blankly out of a window in the small branch base, mind whirling in double-time. He was alone in the room, thankfully, so he didn't have to keep up his clueless-idiot façade. Deidara was up in the air somewhere on one of his clay birds, hidden in the clouds as he watched for messenger birds traveling to or from Konoha. Zetsu was underground, currently infiltrating the village to get a lock on the Kyubi Jinchuriki and make sure the boy hadn't disappeared anywhere. Sasori was off in one of the rooms, making adjustments to his prized puppets as he prepared for battle.

All that was left was one day.

Tomorrow morning at dawn, the entire Akatsuki would swarm Konohagakure no Sato and rip it up from its roots. Uzumaki Naruto was the last-remaining Jinchuriki that they had yet to remove a tailed-demon from. They had been hunting him for seven years, and he had managed to escape them every time they caught up. Infuriated by this, Pein declared that Konoha would be destroyed for protecting the boy, and then they would steal him and take the Kyubi Kitsune.

He only had to wait until dawn the next day. He knew today would be a very long day, because he had nothing to do. Uchiha Madara was not a patient man by any means; he wanted to go in and kick some ass right now, but he knew Pein had formed a plan and he would screw it up by attacking too early. Damn that man.

To pass the time lazily, Madara imagined how he would kill the Godaime Hokage. The thought brought a smirk to his face. He would enjoy seeing the life fade from her eyes as he crushed her throat in his hand, and a thrill would shoot down his spine when he watched her limp body fall heavily to the ground.

It was worth the wait, he decided. He would soon have his revenge on the Hashirama family and all of Konoha.

o o o O O O o o o

When Sakura awoke that morning and came down to the main room that the task force worked in, she received a rather strange surprise. Aizawa, Matsuda, and Soichiro all sat around the dozens of computer screens, watching the other three members of the team — Ryuzaki, Light, and Misa — via multiple cameras. She blinked when she recognized what room the trio was in: Misa's make-shift bedroom in the building.

"What's going on?" she asked, crossing her arms and joining them at the large desk. She leaned against the back of Matsuda's chair and looked up at the screens in interest.

"Misa-Misa wanted a date with Light," the youngest of the three men explained with a smile. "And since Ryuzaki is hand-cuffed to Light and he wants to monitor them twenty-four/seven, he's with them."

Sakura laughed and shook her head incredulously. "I didn't peg Ryuzaki as the dating type of guy," she remarked in amusement. She couldn't really remember when she had begun addressing him as 'Ryuzaki' rather than 'Ryuzaki-san'.

"Me neither," Matsudo agreed jokingly.

The smile on Sakura's face slowly began to slide off as she took notice of the situation. Misa and Light were standing, the female covering her mouth in shock and the male glaring down at Ryuzaki, who looked to have been knocked to the floor. The super-genius was rubbing at his cheek absently, listening to what Light had to say. A moment later, said reddish-brown-haired man snatched him up by the collar of his white long-sleeved shirt.

"_The police, the FBI agents, TV announcers; how many innocent people do you think have been victimized?!"_ he yelled angrily. _"You're the one who put Misa and me in confinement!!"_

Sakura's eyebrows shot up. "What's this all about?" she asked.

"Ryuzaki's apparently kind of depressed," Matsuda replied, his enthusiasm dimming a bit. "Something about Kira's power jumping around and it'll be harder to catch him. He said we shouldn't even bother to keep trying to get him if Kira's power can be transferred, because then it could move as soon as we catch each new one; and when he said that he thought he was going to die so many times, Light punched him in the face."

"_I understand that," Ryuzaki murmured quietly, his hair casting a shadow over his eyes. "But whatever the reason…"_

Ryuzaki was suddenly kicking Light in the face in nearly a perfect copy of something Rock Lee would do.

"_Once is once!"_ he finished, almost in a yell.

Light crashed to the floor, Ryuzaki flying after him clumsily. Kicking him probably hadn't been the best idea, seeing as they were handcuffed together. The man's words echoed in Misa's head as she stared at the two in shock.

_Once is once…?_

"_It's not just that my reasoning was wrong…,"_ the black-haired man grunted, raising from the floor into a crouch. _"It's the fact that the case can't be solved as 'Yagami Light is Kira and Amane Misa is the Second Kira'. So I'm a little disappointed. I'm human _— _that's not allowed?"_

Light slowly pushed himself to one knee. _"No, it's not,"_ he said. _"The way you talk, it's like you won't be satisfied unless I'm Kira."_

"_Not satisfied unless you're Kira…?"_ the other man echoed. _"Yes, that may be true…" _He met Light's gaze evenly. _"I have just realized something… I wanted you to be Kira…"_

Sakura stared at the screen silently, committing Ryuzaki's expression to memory. Her features were unreadable as she watched the fight continue, starting off with the world-renowned detective getting punched in the face again. This time, however, he wasn't knocked back; his frame just trembled and tensed, Light's fist pressing into his forehead.

"_Once in once," _he repeated. _"I'll have you know that I'm quite strong."_

A moment later, he was down in Lee's position again, kicking Light in the chin. The man's head snapped back and he yelled out as he was thrown back.

They were just like Naruto and Sasuke.

"I'll call the room and make them stop…" Matsuda reached out for what Sakura had been told was called a "phone".

"Matsuda…," Soichiro muttered, his forehead in his palm. "Let them be…"

Aizawa remained silent, regarding the screens with a 'I can't believe these two are geniuses' look. A moment later, a song began playing out of nowhere. Sakura stiffened up, eyes darting around the room. She watched intently as Matsuda looked down at his pocket in surprise, pulling out a small silver rectangle-thing — a "cellular phone", she'd learned. "Oh," he said.

"Hey Matsuda, you have your cell phone turned on?" Aizawa asked, looking over at the younger man. "If Ryuzaki finds out…"

"Oh no, this is my cell phone as Misa-Misa's manager," he replied, flipping it open. "Ryuzaki told me to always leave it on." He answered it and listened for a moment. "Yes, this is Matsui." That was his manager alias. "Yes… Yes…" he suddenly brightened. "Really?!" He hung up without saying 'goodbye' and grabbed the room's phone. "Better tell Misa-Misa!" The other three members shot him questioning looks.

In the camera-infested room, Ryuzaki and Light had each other by their collars and were both pulling back their fists to punch one another in the face when the phone rang. They both paused and stared at it for a moment, neither moving. Finally, Ryuzaki separated himself from the other man and answered the phone.

"_Yes?"_ he asked.

"We did it, Ryuzaki!" Matsuda said cheerfully.

"_What happened?"_

"Misa-Misa was number one in the Eighteen Magazine reader poll!" he explained, a grin splayed across his face. "Her disappearing for two months created tons of buzz and actually increased her popularity!"

He spoke blankly. _"Yes… I see…"_

"Come on, show a little more excitement… This means she'll be starring in Director Nishinaka's next movie!"

"…"

He abruptly hung up.

"_What was it?"_ Light asked curiously.

"_Nothing, just Matsuda being an idiot again."_

"_Well, Matsuda is a little slow."_

Sakura burst out laughing while Soichiro and Aizawa watched Matsuda's expression. The dark-haired young man was still holding the phone up half-way.

"Those two know we can hear them, right…?"

.

.

.

"Don't be a baby," Sakura said, grabbing at Ryuzaki's chin as he turned his face away. "If I don't heal the bruise while it's still forming, it'll get bigger and feel a whole lot worse in a few hours."

He ducked under her hand, spinning around in his swivel computer chair to avoid her attempts at medical ninjutsu.

"It's only a bruise," he replied simply. "It's not as if I will suddenly develop a brain tumor from it; it won't kill me. Save your chakra for more pressing matters."

Sakura rolled her eyes and grabbed the back of his chair, twirling him back around. She held his gaze sternly, hands resting on her hips.

"Don't make me knock you out," she warned. "And don't think I won't. I've dealt with stubborn shinobi that won't come to the hospital for years; you wouldn't believe how incredibly chicken-shit some of our most powerful ninja are when it comes to getting a physical or a tetanus shot."

Ryuzaki opened his mouth to argue that he wasn't a ninja, therefore none of that counted toward him, but Sakura cut him off with a reprimanding glare.

"Lighten up, you chicken," she muttered. "I'm just healing a bruise on your face, not mending a shattered bone. You won't even feel it."

"If the healing is so easy, then the injury in not important," he countered easily, blinking his wide dark eyes for the first time in a while.

He attempted to spin his chair around again, but Sakura slammed her hands down on the arm rests, effectively locking him in place. She lowered her head to meet him at eye-level, eyes narrowed.

"Don't argue with me," she ground out. "My patience is wearing thin; either grow a pair and let me heal your stupid bruise, or I'll _sit_ on you and do it. Your choice."

Ryuzaki stared blankly at the girl before him, not speaking. Aizawa, Soichiro, Matsuda, Light, and Misa watched the scene with growing disbelief. Her crude language never ceased to amaze them; she had just insulted his manhood with that last statement. Sakura was determined to take care of that bruise even if it meant inflicting a few of her own — and then healing those as well, of course.

The detective opened his mouth to reply, then closed it, thinking better of his words. He tried a second time, then closed it again. The third time was the charm.

"You are extremely stubborn," he noted, holding her gaze. "You get your way often, I suppose."

"Yes, in fact, I am and I do," she agreed, keeping a firm grip on his arm rests. She wasn't going to let him distract her with conversation. "Now sit still."

She reached out with one hand and he ducked down again, managing to slip out under her arm. With an indignant scowl, Sakura grabbed him by his left arm and yanked him back, nearly tackling him in the process. She shoved him down on the floor and sat heavily on his chest, pinning him with her weight; even though he easily had fifty pounds on her, she had a lot more muscle on her side. Ryuzaki attempted to worm his way out, but Sakura trapped his arms beneath her knees and grabbed his chin again. She had to force herself not to 'accidentally' slap him when she pressed her palm against the large bruise on his cheek.

Pale green light enveloped her hand and cast an ethereal glow on their faces as her healing chakra came to life. Ryuzaki felt warmth surging around his cheek, not enough to be uncomfortable by any means, but enough to surprise him. He went still, ceasing in his struggles, and waited out the healing process. The slightly purple tent faded from his cheek as the blood that had pooled beneath his skin began regulating normally again, and with it the healing chakra slowed. He was almost sad to feel the sensation stop; it had been heavenly and like nothing he'd ever experienced. Sakura smiled down at him triumphantly, releasing his face and crossing her arms over her chest.

"There," she said, a tad bit of pride coloring her tone. "That wasn't so bad, now, was it?"

Ryuzaki just stared up at her in his usual way — the kind of way that creeped Misa out. She sighed and shifted off him, pushing herself to her feet before holding out her hand to him. When he looked at it blankly, she rolled her eyes again.

"Come on," she muttered, bending over and grabbing his hand off the floor. She pulled him up easily, making sure he didn't lose his balance. When she went to turn toward Light and inspect his own bruises (he had two instead of one), she found his hand glued to hers. She raised an eyebrow. "Ryuzaki…can I have my hand back, now?"

"No."

It was her turn to stare blankly at him, something akin to '…eh?' displaying on her face. He gripped her hand with no intention of letting it go, bringing it up to his face and inspecting it. He flipped it over and studied her palm, going back and forth between it and the back of her hand a couple dozen times. Ryuzaki didn't blink once. The task force wasn't sure what to think any longer.

"The healing doesn't seem to affect your hands," he noted, eyes locked on his specimen. "I didn't expect it to damage your hands my any means; it is healing chakra, after all. However, I _did_ expect at least something to happen."

Sakura stared at him for a long moment before speaking.

"It does nothing to me," she explained. "Unless I pack my hand full of healing chakra to the point of getting a chakra burn, it won't hurt me."

"Very interesting…"

He flipped her hand over to her palm again.

"Your hand is covered in calluses," he stated simply, meeting her gaze. "You said that healing chakra doesn't affect you."

"It doesn't," she agreed with a small sigh. "That's from hand-to-hand combat and handling steel weapons."

He gave a faint nod and returned to his investigation. "What kinds of ninjutsu do you use?"

Sakura frowned slightly. "Ah, well, you see…" He looked up at her, catching her discomfort at the topic. "First off, there's medical ninjutsu," she began slowly. "I use that, obviously. Then there's the basic jutsu: like cloning, transportation, substitution — so on and so forth. I use that, too; every half-decent ninja can. And lastly, there's elemental-style ninjutsu." Sakura avoided his eyes smoothly, instead taking up a sudden interest with her hand that he held. "Each shinobi has a chakra-style that allows them to specialize in an element; most shinobi my rank specialize in two or even three. I'm a bit, ah…different." She paused for a moment, seemingly unwilling to share the rest of the story. All eyes were on her, though, so she couldn't stop now. "My chakra-style is wind," she finally said, "so I specialize in wind elemental-style ninjutsu. But I, um…can't…do…elemental-style ninjutsu…"

Ryuzaki watched her face with an unreadable expression. "You can't?"

"…no."

He blinked. "I see."

"Yep," she agreed lamely. "I've got the chakra, the chakra control, and knowledge of hand signs to execute for elemental-style ninjutsu, but…I don't know. It just never comes when I try to use it." She gave a little glare at their hands, unconsciously curling her fingers more tightly. "My birth-born specialty is genjutsu. I always had the highest grades in it — I did even better than Sasuke." Ryuzaki felt the slightest tensing of her hand when she said the boy's name. "But I've got a problem with it, too: I can detect and dispel any genjutsu effortlessly, but I can't…_produce_ any of my own."

"Genjutsu," Ryuzaki repeated, thinking back to when she told them about the different types of jutsu. "You said that was mental art — creating illusions to fool your opponent's mind."

Sakura gave a short nod. "I can get rid of an opponent's genjutsu; no sweat. But I can't cast genjutsu. It just like what happens with the elemental-style ninjutsu: it won't come. That's one of the main reasons my own abilities couldn't make me an ANBU or Hunter-nin. So, naturally, I rely the most on taijutsu."

"Hand-to-hand combat."

"Exactly."

Ryuzaki held her gaze for a long moment before studying her hand again. The next second, however, it disappeared. He stared blankly at his empty hands and then looked up. Sakura was at least twenty feet away, eyeing Light sternly.

"Are you going to cooperate, or do I need to sit on _you_, too?" she demanded.

The man sighed and took a seat. "Cooperate."

o o o O O O o o o

After picking up Sasuke's scent the previous night, the patrol had decided to set up camp and rest until dawn. They were now traveling through the thick Fire Country forests at speeds only a shinobi could attain, having been doing so for nearly five hours. Suspicions were beginning to creep into Kiba's mind as he led the team along the Uchiha's trail, and he wondered if Shikamaru shared his thoughts. He took a chance and voiced them.

"Hey, guys," Kiba spoke up, breaking the silence. The others looked at him but kept moving. "I've been thinking…this trail is a couple weeks old, going by how much the other forest scents cover it up. But still, it's too strong; now that I really think about it, there's no _way_ it's that old."

Shikamaru's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you sure?" he inquired, not waiting for a reply. "How old do you think it is?"

Kiba's nose twitched as he tasted the air again. "To be honest, well…it's like someone is laying this trail _right now_ and throwing leaves and stuff everywhere to half-way mask it."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "A set-up?" he guessed. "Maybe Sasuke figured out we're following him and sent one of his teammates to lay a false trail."

Kiba frowned. "Yeah, maybe," he agreed uncertainly. "But how the hell did he find out we're tracking him? Hokage-sama just sent us out yesterday."

"He has connections," Neji said grimly.

"Do you think that's it, Shikamaru?" Kakashi asked. "A ruse to throw us off the real trail?"

The boy was silent for a long moment.

"No," he finally answered. "I think it's a—"

Shikamaru was unable to finish his deduction as a huge figure suddenly burst from the tress, slamming into Kiba with unimaginable force. The Inuzuka was knocked off his branch, he and his assailant rocketing toward the ground. Realizing the potential danger of engaging in combat so high up in the trees with enemies such as that _giant_, Kakashi immediately ordered them all to ground themselves. They leapt off their branches and quickly descended the trees, Neji's Byakugan exploding to life in his eyes as his feet landed solidly on the forest floor.

Kiba managed to throw off his attacker, his breath coming in short gasps. A new cut bled lazily from his cheek just above his Inuzuka Clan fang-like marks. Akamaru took a threatening step forward and growled lowly in his throat, but he knew not to jump recklessly into battle.

A silver-haired man, a red-haired woman, and one Uchiha Sasuke all appeared before them, the large orange-haired man blocking their escape route.

Shikamaru's mouth set in a grim line.

"Ambush."

o o o O O O o o o

**Seven Hours Later**

Tsunade hadn't so much as looked at a bottle of sake since the departure of Kakashi's team. The situation was much too serious for her to be getting drunk. He mind was more clear than it had been in a long time. She sat t the large desk in her office, waiting patiently for any knocks that came at her door. She had finished every single piece of paperwork on her desk for the first time since she had become Hokage; she couldn't have a cluttered working space or the presence of important long-overdue-to-be-signed documents clouding her mind at a time like this.

All the ANBU in the village had been assigned a region of Konoha to guard for when the Akatsuki arrived. She had no idea when they would come, but she knew it would be soon. The blond-haired woman had authorized the use of deadly force against the S-ranked shinobi, and she had instructed her subordinates to show them no mercy; they wouldn't be receiving any in return, after all.

The ANBU placements were as follows:

Squads 1, 2, and 7 were stationed at the front gate, which was to the east. 13, 14, and 17 had the southern-most village boarder. 8, 10, and 12 took the western-most village boarder; 4, 19, and 21 were placed at the northern-most village boarder. 3 — the squad Sakura served on as Medical Specialist, 5, and 6 were to guard Naruto with their lives twenty-four/seven. All other ANBU squads had to protect the village in whatever way they saw fit and could serve best.

Naruto was, understandably, furious to know that he couldn't participate in the upcoming battle even though he was Konoha's most powerful ninja. He was, after all, the last-remaining Jinchuriki and the Akatsuki would stop at nothing to get him. So far, he hadn't attempted to ditch his guards or escape from the village in order to draw the Akatsuki's attention on himself; Tsunade had no doubt in her mind that he would eventually try to do so if given enough time. She could only hope that he wouldn't manage to break free, only to have those damned cloak-wearing assassins snatch him up and rip out the Kyubi Kitsune. That wouldn't end well for anyone, and she would have to bust in and kick some asses if they laid a hand on him. She knew if he was captured and Sakura found out, she'd be all over the Akatsuki like a raging homicidal psychopath.

Tsunade's lips twitched ever-so-slightly. Thinking about Sakura made her heart clench painfully. She chewed absently on her bottom lip and turned her chair around to stare out her large office windows.

She had to believe. She had to trust in Kakashi and the others to complete their mission. They had four days at most; Tsunade couldn't believe that the Akatsuki would wait any longer than that to attack. She just had to hold onto faith and pray to Kami-sama that she would have Sakura back before the impending war broke out. If her precious daughter was still gone afterward, there was no way the Council would let her send out another search party for a certain Uchiha.

Which meant she would never see Sakura again if she didn't get her back before the Akatsuki attacked.

* * *

Alright, so right now in the Death Note manga, there's supposed to be a ten-day timeskip. I'm not putting that in here, though, so the next chapter is going to pick up one hour after this chapter leaves off. Just pre-warning you all.


	10. Every Which Way But Up

I just got my laptop back today; I was grounded because I had a B in geometry on my progress report. I'm so sorry for the wait! I know this chapter is shorter than usual, but I hope you all like it anyway. The next chapter will be a lot longer; I promise.

Please read and review! :)

* * *

Light and Ryuzaki were working silently at the computers just eight hours after their little fight. The latter was still a bit depressed; with the way the investigation was going, they could quite possibly never find Kira. From what they'd gathered, Kira's power could be transferred. That meant that every time they caught someone with the ability to kill people via heart attack, the power would leave them and shift over to someone else, leaving them with an innocent person in custody. It was mind-boggling, to say the least.

Sakura was seated on the couch between Matsuda and Aizawa, a laptop on the coffee table before them. The two men were teaching her how to work computers from their world so that she might be able to eventually help them search for traces of Kira on the Internet. Soichiro, surprisingly, wasn't present, and Misa was off in her room, reading some ridiculous "teen magazine".

"Ryuzaki…," Light suddenly spoke up, eyes glued to a computer. The entire task force looked at him in interest. "I know you're not into this, but come over here for a second." The detective rolled his chair closer, while the other three members of the room stood behind them and peered over their shoulders. "Take a look at this," Light said, pointing to something on the screen. "Look at the change here. And look at this sudden growth."

Ryuzaki's eyes slowly widened and a slight smile spread across his face. Sakura watched the almost joyous expression take over, and she couldn't help but smile as well. He brought one finger to his bottom lip.

"Y…Yagami-kun…," he murmured in awe.

Light sent an almost-grin at him. "How about now?" he asked. "You read to get to work?"

.

.

.

It was incredible, Sakura decided.

Light had picked up on something so minute, and it had led to a huge discovery. Lately, there had been an enormous number of deaths — from causes other than heart attacks, though — that had caused the Sekimaru and Aoi business' stocks to drop at an alarming rate, while those of the Yotsuba group soared. Light had said himself that most adults today would kill for money, so why not Kira, too? Sakura had no idea what stocks were, so Matsuda explained. After learning all the details, she had to agree; people would do just about anything for money.

But something still struck her as odd.

According to Ryuzaki, Kira had never before caused deaths that would lead to wealth. So why the sudden change? To her, it sounded like an entirely different Kira. But if that was the case, where did the first and second ones go? She didn't have an answer.

"What do you think?" Light asked, feeling slightly breathless after a long debate with Ryuzaki. "I have to conclude that Kira is supporting Yotsuba."

"But if that's the case…" He trailed off, his mind whirling like a storm with their latest discovery.

"Yeah," Light agreed grimly.

Sakura voiced their thoughts, having come to the same conclusion. "Kira can kill in ways other than heart attacks."

o o o O O O o o o

Soichiro stood in the director's office of the National Police Agency building, staring down at said director in shock. He replayed their conversation over in his head for the thousandth time, still unable to believe what was happening.

"What will happen if we continue investigating the case?" he asked quietly. The director was silent for a moment.

"…I'm not personally telling you to quit this case which you've risked your lives for up until now…," the man began carefully. "But if you're going to continue, do it during your free time, not while working as a police officer."

"So then…at the very least…" A bead of sweat rolled down Soichiro's temple as he watched the overweight balding man seated before him. "We'll be prohibited from working with L…?"

"Yes…" The director steeled himself, once again remembering that _he_ was the boss, not Police Chief Yagami Soichiro. "We won't be able to have a computer connected to L in the station, and we can't have this situation where we never know where anyone is," he said simply. "People in the NPA must work under the NPA's directives."

Soichiro's fist clenched slightly, and he met the other man's gaze evenly. "What happens if we continue investigating with L?" he demanded.

"…"

Another long silence reigned, and the director set his jaw.

"Are you going to make me say it…?"

Soichiro turned to walk out of the office. "…I understand. Excuse me."

"Yagami!" the director yelled and slammed his hands on his desk, immediately rising from his seat. "You haven't given me an answer!"

Soichiro didn't look back or even pause as he opened the door. "Thank you for the valuable information concerning the Kira case." The door slammed behind him, leaving the director glaring angrily at the spot where he'd been.

.

.

.

The task force glanced up in surprise as Soichiro and Mogi — whom Sakura had finally met the previous day a few hours before retiring to her room in the building — entered the main work room.

"Chief!" Matsudo called with a grin. "And Mogi too, welcome back."

Sakura nodded to them in greeting, and Mogi gave a tight-lipped smile back. She shot him a questioning look at his grim appearance.

"Things are going great!" Matsuda continued. "Thanks to Light and my heroics, we've determined that Kira may be connected to the Yotsuba group!"

Shock bloomed on Soichiro's face. "Yotsuba?" he repeated in disbelief.

"Y…yes."

"That must be it," he agreed quietly, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "Well done."

"Huh?" Matsuda said in confusion.

"I just heard from the director that Kira has started bribing politicians," he explained, recounting his conversation with him before the grave ending.

"Bribes?" Aizawa echoed. "Using Yotsuba's money…?"

"Wow, this must all be connected," Matsuda concluded eagerly. "No wonder you had such a serious look on your face, Chief!"

"That should aid our request to seek applicants to join the investigation," Aizawa noted. "Did the director get approval?"

"It's the opposite…," Soichiro disagreed. "The police have officially given up now."

"Huh?" Matsuda choked out, utter shock taking over him and Aizawa. Light's expression was one of disbelief, while Ryuzaki watched Soichiro quietly, an unreadable look on his face. Sakura glanced at the detective, wondering what he could possibly be thinking.

"I've talked it over with Mogi," Soichiro admitted, "and he seems determined to remain here."

He received many questioning looks.

"Aizawa, Matsuda, if you want to continue going after Kira, you need to join Mogi and me…and resign from the NPA!"

o o o O O O o o o

Shizune knocked on Tsunade's door, entering a moment later when she was told to do so. She carried a large stack of papers, preparing to drop them on the blond-haired woman's desk to sit there with the mountain of other paperwork, but froze in place. She stared in disbelief at Tsunade's miraculously clear desk, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

"Ts-Tsunade-sama," she stammered, suspicion creeping in. "What did you do with your paperwork?"

The woman raised an eyebrow. "I signed it all and sent it off, of course."

Shizune looked at her blankly, her mind not processing what she'd just said. "…you…you did your work?"

"That's what I said."

It was a miracle. For the first time since Tsunade came into office, the desk was actually _visible_. Oh, joyous day!

"I'm impressed!" the dark-haired woman commented with a wide smile. "That was very responsible of you, Tsunade-sama! Good job!"

She dropped her current stack of papers on the woman's desk, watching in amazement as Tsunade whipped out a stamp that would print her signature. She proceeded to fly through the entire stack, stamping like a beast; she finished more quickly that Naruto could wolf down three bowls of ramen. She met Shizune's awe-struck gaze and pushed the stack back, blinking expectantly. Shaking her head, Shizune smiled again and took the papers.

"Very good, Tsunade-sama," she said. "I'll get these turned in right away."

Tsunade waved her off, turning around in her chair to stare out the window. Shizune gave a small laugh to herself and pushed the door open with her back, walking out into the hallway, abruptly running into a person's chest. She blinked and looked up in surprise before a relieved expression crossed her face.

"Oh," she breathed. "Good; it's you. Tsunade-sama will be very pleased. Just go right in."

The man nodded and knocked on the Hokage's door as Shizune walked away.

"Shizune?" the blond's voice drifted from inside the office. "Did you bring more paperwork?"

"No," he replied, opening the door and stepping into the room.

The blond had turned back around in her chair. Her eyebrows shot up and her features clearly displayed that she was very impressed.

"Well, well," Tsunade murmured, taking in the forms of the group of shinobi before. "I'll be damned. I didn't think it would actually work." She folded her fingers together and rested her chin on them, a smile curving on her pink-painted lips. "Now listen up and listen good, Uchiha, 'cause I've got an offer that'll knock your socks off."

.

.

.

Sasuke leapt from the trees and landed in the clearing where Team Kakashi had fought the Akatsuki. Sharingan activated, he looked around slowly, taking it all in. According to Naruto, Sakura had been sucked into some kind of portal that had been meant for him. Supposedly when it takes in jinchuriki, it transports them to an "alternate-dimension/holding-cell-thing that keeps demon-carriers locked up so that the Akatsuki can restrain them and remove their demons at the same time" — straight from the mouth of one Uzumaki Naruto.

_There._

Sasuke's blood-colored eyes zeroed in on a spot suspended in mid-air. It rippled with the tell-tale signs of a thick chakra presence, stretching to about two feet by four feet. His lips pressed in a hard line as he recalled Tsunade's bargain.

.

"_Now listen up and listen good, Uchiha, 'cause I've got an offer that'll knock your socks off."_

_Sasuke stared at the Hokage evenly, not so much as batting an eye._

"_Sakura has been taken," Tsunade began, but Sasuke cut her off before she could say more._

"_No," he deadpanned._

_The woman scowled, attempting to keep her temper in check. "Let me give you the whole deal, and _then_ answer."_

"_No," he repeated bluntly. "I know what you'll say _—_ you want me to rescue her. If she is so incompetent that she has gotten herself kidnapped, then she doesn't deserve to be a shinobi. I refuse."_

_Tsunade slammed her hands down on her desk, making it crack in half. Everyone in the room except Sasuke flinched. Suigetsu eyed his leader warily._

"_Eh, boss," he mumbled, "you might wanna listen to what she's got to say_—_"_

_Sasuke glared darkly over his shoulder at the silver-haired man, and he went silent._

"_Don't test my patience," the blond-hared woman warned. "Either listen to me or I'll knock some listening skills into you."_

_Sasuke could have cared less about her threat, but it wasn't like he could go anywhere. He didn't have a choice._

"_Sakura has been taken," she repeated, calming slightly. "Not kidnapped; _taken_. As in, sucked out of our world and transported somewhere else."_

_His gaze suddenly snapped to hers, his attention caught._

"_Yeah," Naruto agreed, speaking up. "It was meant for me, but Sakura-chan pushed me out of the way. She got sucked into some kind of alternate-dimension/holding-cell-thing that keeps demon-carriers locked up so that the Akatsuki can restrain them and remove their demons at the same time."_

_Sasuke tensed at the mention of the organization that his brother was a part of. "Where?" he demanded._

_Tsunade glowered at him. "If you want that information, you'd better agree to go after Sakura and bring her home _— alive_."_

_He grunted and glared back. "What do I get out of it?"_

"_All of our information on the Akatsuki," she replied easily. "You and your team also get protection and full admittance back into the village whenever you choose, as long as you don't attack and/or kill any Konoha or Suna citizens."_

_Sasuke's eyes narrowed into slits as he thought it over. His three teammates made no objections. Finally, after a long moment, he lifted his chin and met the Hokage's sharp gaze._

"_Fine," he agreed. "Where do I need to go?"_

"_The old clearing a couple miles from the village," Tsunade answered instantly, relieved. "The one with the old oak tree that got struck by lightning seven years ago."_

_Sasuke nodded. He knew the one._

"_I've thought this over at least a dozen times," she continued. "And from Kakashi's reports, I've formed a hypothesis: your Sharingan can see chakra, correct?"_

_He gave a curt nod._

"_Then perhaps you can see where the portal was ripped open; it must have taken a lot of chakra to execute, after all. Once you find it, maybe you can manipulate your own chakra to reopen it."_

.

Sasuke approached the wiggling patch of air, examining it curiously. He circled it slowly, attempting to figure out how it worked. It appeared to be two-dimensional, but whenever he moved, the opening seemed to follow him. Strange.

Without saying a word, Sasuke brought his hands together into the tiger seal and spiked his chakra, sending it out in a wave in every direction. Suddenly, the space where the portal had been pulsated. Sasuke's chakra was drawn to it like Naruto to ramen. The air began to vibrate and a strange mist faded into existence, glowing eerily. It began to swirl faster and faster, focusing on one point—

And then, a sphere of impossibly-bright light ripped a hole in the universal fabrics. It began drawing everything around it in like a vacuum, emitting a creepy noise. Sasuke tensed, staring at the thing blankly in disbelief.

It had worked.

Sucking in a sharp breath through his nose, Sasuke walked forward. Time to get to work. He took a step through the silvery-white portal and the rest of his body was pulled inside of it. And then, just as it came, the portal collapsed on itself and disappeared into thin air.

o o o O O O o o o

Sakura watched Aizawa walk out without a word. Matsuda had agreed to leave the police force and stay with them, but not Aizawa; he needed the money his job brought, and it was just too much to ask of him. With a heavy heart, Sakura was forced to admit to herself that she would never see him again.

"Good-bye," she whispered, knowing Aizawa couldn't hear her. He was already far down the hall, on his way home to his family. She turned to Ryuzaki and gazed at him sadly. "Will you miss him?" she asked quietly.

Ryuzaki met her gaze, staring at her for a long moment before responding. "Yes," he admitted. "If you or anyone else were to leave, I would miss you all." Sakura felt her lips tremble with the beginnings of a smile.

"But you hardly know me," she murmured. She looked around at the others with a small smile, negating her last statement. "I don't really know any of you," the rosette said softly. "But I feel that I would miss you all very much if I had to go."

Misa nodded vigorously, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "Me, too," she agreed.

Sakura turned back to Ryuzaki, opening her mouth to say something, but suddenly froze. An incredibly powerful burst of chakra spiked up out of nowhere, making her heart stop. Ryuzaki noticed this and questioned her, but she couldn't hear him.

_Chakra?_ she thought to herself in shock. _Who in the world_—

And then, the chakra surged back into a normal chakra signature. It slammed into Sakura with jarring force, and she felt as if she were drowning.

_Oh God._ was all she could think. _Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. No. Oh, please God, no. No. No. __**No.**_

The next think Sakura knew, Ryuzaki's face was inches from hers and his hands were firm on her shoulders.

"Sakura-san!" he said, shaking her gently. "Sakura, what's wrong?"

Sakura slowly refocused on him, her heart pounding a mile a minute. A horrible feeling washed over her, and she had a sudden strong desire to hug Ryuzaki tightly and never let him go. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't possible. There was _no way_—

"Sakura," he repeated, sounding worried. His wide dark eyes locked onto hers and Sakura stared back, speechless. "Sakura, you have to tell me what's wrong," he said softly.

Sakura tried to tell him; she really did. The words just wouldn't come. With each passing second, the chakra signature drew closer and closer, moving at a speed far greater than she could ever run. Fear clenched in her chest and her stomach twisted with dread.

"He— he— Oh, Ryuzaki!" she choked out, grabbing the front of his shirt. "Don't let him! Please, don't let him find me!"

"Who?" he demanded, tightening his grip on her protectively. "Who's after you, Sakura?"

Sakura was nearly hyperventilating. She sputtered on her words, but couldn't force it out.

"Sakura."

Sakura went completely still, her breath catching in her throat. She saw Ryuzaki and the others looks up in surprise, but she didn't. She couldn't move. She remained staring wide-eyed at Ryuzaki's face, watching hopelessly as recognition dawned over his features.

"Hey, wait," came Misa's voice from somewhere behind her. "I think I know you. I just saw you somewhere…"

Finally, Sakura managed to turn her head ever-so-slowly in the direction of the newcomer. He had that same horrible, painful, beautiful face that she remembered. Pain blossomed in her heart and her throat dried up.

"…Sasuke…"


	11. Back to the Beginning

The next chapter is up! :) I'd like to dedicate this one to **XxMidnightMelodyMistressxX**. Hope you all like it!

Please read and review!

* * *

Madara watched in grim fascination as the sky began to streak with oranges and purples. The sun was slowly setting. It was almost time. All he had to do was rest deeply for a few hours, wake up at two in the morning, and then BAM—

Konoha would be grinded into dust.

Finally, he would get his revenge on that damn Senju Clan woman, Tsunade. He may not have been able to kill the Shodai Hokage, but he had gotten his; and now, to make up for lost time, he would murder the Godaime Hokage. Simple.

He chuckled to himself lowly, a slow twisted smile twitching on his lips.

Oh, yes. He would enjoy this very much.

o o o O O O o o o

Pein walked slowly around the room that housed all of his bodies, examining the other five that were currently not in use. He ran his hand along the machines that preserved them, his ringed gray eyes clearly showing that he was deep in thought. His lips were pressed in a hard line.

For nearly the thousandth time, Pein asked himself a single question:

_Would it work?_

It was a fifty-fifty shot, by his calculations. Maybe yes, maybe no. Not the best of odds, but he would take what he could get.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he stopped beside the empty machine that usually held the body he was using: the main one, the Tendo body. He gripped the edge of it tightly, his resolve steeling.

_Yahiko._ he thought quietly. _I will not fail you. I will make your dream _— our_ dream _— _a reality. The world will be peaceful and all war will dissipate. I swear to you; I will not let your sacrifice be in vain. This world will change, and it will start with the kyubi jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto._

o o o O O O o o o

All she could do for the longest time was stare.

It was him. Sasuke. He was here. This couldn't be happening. It had to be a dream. An awful, horrible, terribly realistic dream. But, then, did that mean that Ryuzaki and everyone else was a dream, too?

No. It couldn't be.

Sakura refused to except that Ryuzaki was all a dream.

But, then…

_Oh God._

Sakura's heart clenched painfully and her breath left her lungs in a rush. Sasuke was real, and he was right here in front of her. She was frozen in her spot, unable to move. What in Kami's name could he want with her? To kill her?

_No._ She swallowed silently, turning ever-so-slowly to face him completely. _If he's here to kill me, I won't let him._

Sensing that Sakura was about to speak, Sasuke remained silent.

"Sasuke," she repeated quietly, inwardly kicking herself when her voice wavered. "Why are you…how did you get here?"

"The same way you did, I suppose," he replied emotionlessly, flash-stepping forward.

In less than a heartbeat, he was right in front of her. Misa and Matsuda gasped at his speed, and Sakura flinched back slightly. He suddenly snatched up her arm and yanked her toward him. Sakura stumbled, nearly falling, and Ryuzaki made a sound of protest. Sasuke shot him a glare.

"You're coming with me."

Sakura helplessly let him drag her toward the door, frozen in shock. A moment later, she regained her senses and planted her feet down firmly, refusing to budge an inch. Sasuke glowered over his shoulder at her, Sharingan flickering to life.

"Sakura," he warned.

"No!" she yelled back, straining against his grip on her arm. "I'm not going anywhere until you explain what the hell is going on!"

Sasuke whipped around with god-like speed and shot out his hand to hit the nerve on the back of her neck. Realizing what he was planning, Sakura attempted to dodge. He was way too fast for her, though. His fingers struck, missing their mark by barely a millimeter thanks to Sakura's efforts; the blow wasn't enough to knock her out, but her legs collapsed beneath her nevertheless.

Sakura dropped like a brick, slamming into the floor with jarring force. Sasuke didn't even attempt to catch her. He merely picked her up by the back of her collar and threw her out into the hallway.

The rosette struggled to climb to her feet, but a well-aimed kick to her ribs sent her back down.

"Sakura!"

Ryuzaki — not one of the former police officers, like Sakura would have thought — appeared in the doorway and stared wide-eyed at the scene.

Sasuke glanced back at the black-haired detective, and Sakura took that chance to leap up. Just as her former teammate was turning back to her, she slammed her foot into his face with a flying kick. Sasuke staggered back in what appeared to be shock before a dark rage twisted his expression.

He grabbed her ankle and threw her down, glaring black flames of death. Sakura scowled back, and the next thing she knew, he was holding her up in the air by her throat. She struggled against his choke-hold, faintly hearing some of the task force cry out for him to let her go.

"You're still annoying," Sasuke said coldly, to which Sakura spat in his face.

He wiped it off slowly then suddenly back-handed her. Her face snapped to the side, no doubt going to bruise.

"What the hell do you want with me?" Sakura demanded angrily. "Every time I'd talk to you, you would toss me aside and call me useless. And now you suddenly show up and try to kidnap me? If you think I'll just go along with you like some stupid love-struck little girl, then you're wrong! I'm not the same person I was six years ago, Sasuke; not that _you_ would know! You _abandoned _the village for that snake-bastard!"

"You're _still_ useless," he remarked bluntly. "I'm here because your stupid Hokage wants you back so badly, she agreed to give me everything Konoha knows on the Akatsuki _and_ amnesty from all crimes."

Sakura stared at him in disbelief. "What?' she echoed, not entirely sure she'd heard him correctly. "She granted you _amnesty_?"

"Are you deaf, you stupid girl?" he snapped. "Yes; _amnesty_. As in, freedom from all crimes."

"Go to hell," Sakura spat, glaring at him. He snorted.

"Shut up, already," he muttered. "You're getting on my nerves." Sakura opened her mouth to retort back, but his grip on her throat tightened, making her wince. "Don't complain, don't struggle, don't yell," the Uchiha ordered. "I'll return you to your precious village, and then I'll be on my way. If you don't obey me, I may end up handing you over in two or more pieces. Am I clear?"

"I'm not going home!" she screamed and lashed out to strike him in the face, shocking all of them.

Sakura, herself, was the most surprised at this. She didn't want to go home? Since when did this happen? What about Naruto? And Kakashi, Sai, Yamato, Tsunade, Shizune, and everyone else? Was she willing to just leave them all behind? To give it all up and stay here? She hardly knew any of these people here.

Her eyes met Ryuzaki's, and she knew: yes. She _was_ willing to leave them all behind. She _was_ willing to give it all up and stay here with them. With _him_.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"I wasn't asking your opinion," he hissed, slamming her back against a wall. "Be quiet and do as I say, or amnesty be damned, I will _kill_ you." Sakura grit her teeth at the impact but didn't make a sound. Sasuke glowered fiercely at her, bloodred eyes flashing dangerously. "Don't you dare think that I won't do it," he growled. "You mean _nothing_ to me. Naruto, Kakashi, the village — I don't give a damn about any of it. Hit me again, and I'll tear you apart."

Sakura had no doubt that he was deadly serious. Sasuke was not one to play nice, even with those he was close to; and since he wasn't close with Sakura whatsoever…well, he just didn't play nice. Ever. Simple as that.

"Put her down!"

Sasuke glared sharply over his shoulder at Matsuda, who was pointing a strange object — a "gun", Sakura realized — at him. He looked scared and determined at the same time. Sasuke scoffed.

"Your petty toys don't amuse me, civilian," he said coldly. "Let the adults talk."

He refocused on Sakura, only to find her wearing a shit-eating smirk. He instantly tensed at her expression and turned with unimaginable speed as a painfully-loud explosion rang out behind him. He grunted and dropped Sakura, grabbing his shoulder as blood poured out.

_What the hell?_ he thought. _What was that?_

He whipped around toward Sakura when he sensed movement from her, easily dodging a chakra-packed kick. His eyes narrowed slightly as he shifted out of range.

_That's why her blow was so powerful; she's enhancing them with chakra._

Screeching out a battle cry, Sakura pulled a suicidal move for all shinobi: she tackled him.

Shinobi were taught not to tackle their opponents, as it left them completely defenseless as they threw their entire bodies forward. Even worse, if they missed, their opponent had a perfect target.

But that was why it was so effective for Sakura. Sasuke didn't expect her to pull such a dumbass move, so she caught him off-guard.

The two rolled down the hallway, grappling for control and yelling curses. Sakura used her chakra to force her way to the top, rearing back her fist for a bone-shattering punch. Sasuke surged up, using the entirety of his weight to throw her off-balance, and pinned her down. He hand flew to grab a kunai, but Sakura made a split-second decision to head-but him.

She slammed her forehead into his with all her strength, an ugly sound resulting. He staggered up and fell on his back, momentarily stunned. Stars shot across Sakura's vision and she barely stifled a groan.

_Bad idea._ she thought miserably. _Holy shit, that hurt._

She struggled to her feet, only to have Sasuke grab her ankle and yank her back down. The back of her head cracked against the floor and she felt warm liquid seeping through her hair. Sakura curled up into herself and gripped her head, squeezing her eyes shut against the pain. Sasuke pushed himself up to his feet and stepped down unforgiving on her chest, breaking a few ribs. She growled out and a chakra scalpel blazed in her hand. Before Sasuke could react, she sliced his ankle and he fell instantly.

Chakra scalpels don't cut through skin, but they cut through everything _below_ the skin. So for the next three hours — or before that, if he got his ankle healed — Sasuke would not be able to walk on that foot without extreme agony. Ah, the perks of being a med-nin.

With a low curse, Sasuke kicked her in the face with said foot, ignoring the stab of pain that shot up his leg. Sakura skidded across the floor, holding her now-broken nose. He stood again, but his foot gave out from under him. Swearing again, he placed one hand against the wall for balance and forced his foot to support him, once again ignoring the fiery-hot pain.

Sakura leapt up and dodged the shuriken he flicked out at her, catching the last one and throwing it back. Sasuke barely tilted his head, letting it whisk right past him. He turned suddenly and ducked, a bullet flying over his head as Matsuda shot again.

And then Ryuzaki, bless his soul, stole one of Soichiro's shoes and chucked it at Sasuke's head. If the situation hadn't been so serious, Sakura would have burst out laughing. Sasuke, however, didn't find in funny in the slightest as he caught the offending object. Then, to Sakura's horror, he flash-stepped to Ryuzaki and drew out his kusanagi.

The task force all froze up in shock, Misa starting to cry. With a glare, Sasuke snapped his arm down to slice Ryuzaki's head off.

"NO!" Sakura screamed.

The blade halted barely a centimeter away from the detective's throat. Ryuzaki looked down at it with wide, disbelieving eyes, unable to breathe. Sasuke turned his head slightly, just enough to glance sharply at Sakura over his shoulder.

"Well?" he demanded impatiently.

Sakura's gaze flickered to Ryuzaki, sadness and relief clear in her expression.

"Fine," she whispered in defeat, to the task force's shock. "I'll go with you. Just don't hurt him."

Sasuke sneered. "You always were weak, Sakura," he scoffed. "Unwilling to sacrifice the lives of those who mean nothing. What kind of shinobi are you?"

Her eyes flashed angrily. "One with a _heart_!" she shouted. "Unlike _you_!"

"'Shinobi are to never show emotion'," Sasuke quoted in a steely tone, making Sakura flinch. "What happened to all of your academy training? Tch; you aren't even _genin_ level."

Sakura glared. "I can be a good shinobi without killing every person that looks at me the wrong way," she spat. "Unlike sadistic psychopathic bastards like you, _I_ don't have to kill to get respect."

She ducked a kunai.

"Oh, _real_ mature, Sasuke!" she yelled. "Look how much _you've_ grown!"

"So annoying." He pressed the tip of his kusanagi against Ryuzaki's throat. "Hold your tongue, or I'll kill him."

Sakura glared dangerously at him, but said nothing. Sasuke didn't so much as blink.

"Get up."

She grit her teeth and shifted her weight, pushing herself slowly to her feet. Her hands remained suspended in air by her face in a signal of surrender.

"Now walk to me — slowly."

She did as she was told, holding back from saying "Fuck you". Judging by his expression, her face delivered the message. As soon as she was within grabbing distance, Sasuke bound her wrists with chakra bands in less than a second and brought his blade back up to threaten Ryuzaki.

"I said I'd come with you," the kunoichi objected. "I'm tied up with chakra-resistant restraints; let him go!"

"No," Sasuke refused bluntly. "He comes with us. If you try _anything_, I'll slit his throat, no questions asked."

Ryuzaki's eyes widened slightly. He had never been used as a hostage before.

"Son of a— When are you going to learn, Sasuke?" Sakura snapped. "You think that you can have your way just because you're heartless; well, _newsflash_! Not everything can be solved with murder!"

"Not for you, maybe," he disagreed icily. "But me? It works just fine. I certainly disabled _you_ with it."

Sakura glowered. "Just get on with it," she hissed. "You're a waste of my time."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he glared back, grunting in reply. He shoved Ryuzaki toward the stairs carelessly, growling at him to get moving. Because he was a civilian instead of a shinobi, he nearly lost his balance and ran into a wall. Sasuke tapped his back with the tip of his kusanagi.

"Down the stairs," he ordered gruffly, sparing a glare at the rest of the task force. "Don't move," he shot at them. His eyes flickered to Sakura. "You next."

Reluctantly, Sakura followed Ryuzaki down the stairs, the bands on her wrists beginning to break through her skin.

"We'll attract attention," she warned lowly. "A man pointing a sword at another man and shoving a girl with her hands tied behind her back? Not very common in the civilian world."

"Shut up," Sasuke said, pushing her shoulder to get her moving faster. "No need to get your hopes up; no one's going to help you."

Sakura and Ryuzaki stumbled down the rest of the stairs, nearly tripping at least a dozen times. When they walked awkwardly out onto the sidewalk, Sakura realized Sasuke was right; he was cloaking them with a genjutsu.

"Odd," Ryuzaki remarked. "The surrounding citizens don't appear to notice us." he glanced at Sakura. "Would that, perhaps, be a result of this 'genjutsu' thing you've told me of?"

Sakura gave a short nod. "You saw how his eyes turned red?" she asked. He nodded in reply. "That's his Sharingan; it allows him to create the most powerful genjutsu known to the shinobi world."

His eyebrows raised slightly. "You mentioned the Sharingan before; a Kekkei Genkai, wasn't it? A bloodline ability?"

Sakura nodded again and Sasuke growled at them to put a cork in it, to which she shot him a glare.

"I'm so sorry about this," Sakura apologized, her eyes straying to the ground. "I never thought…"

Ryuzaki shook his head, offering one of his rare smiles. "Think of it this way," he suggested gently, trying to cheer her up. "I'm going on a temporary vacation to your home."

Sakura snorted a laugh, receiving a hit to the back of her head from Sasuke for "making too much damn noise". She glared again, wincing slightly at the throbbing in her skull. She'd have to heal that later.

They didn't speak for the rest of the journey, and Sasuke led them effortlessly to an alleyway — the same one Sakura had been dumped in when she first arrived in this world. He put his kusanagi away, but Sakura knew she still couldn't do anything; her hands were bound and her chakra was cut off. He formed the tiger seal and forced his chakra out in a thick wave.

The portal appeared exactly like it had before: glowing mist appears, starts swirling, explodes into light, starts sucking everything in, etcetera. Sasuke threw Ryuzaki through the rip violently, much to Sakura's anger. She yelled a curse at him for his rough treatment of her—

What? Her what? She didn't really know.

Nevertheless, she swore at him up and down until he, rather gracefully, kicked her in the back and sent her through the portal after Ryuzaki. He stepped through last, and it disappeared behind him.

o o o O O O o o o

Tsunade sat silently in her office, staring out at the midnight sky. She had to stay up tonight; if Sasuke showed up with Sakura, she wanted to be there. She had no idea when the Akatsuki would attack, but she was certain it would be soon.

The blond-haired woman sighed quietly, leaning back in her chair and looking out at the peaceful village. One would never guess that it housed deadly assassins.

"Tsunade-sama!"

Her head shot up as Shizune burst into the room frantically, looking as if she'd just rolled out of bed. Oh, Kami. Could it be…?

"We have a situation!" the dark-haired woman called in panic.

Tsunade was standing in an instant. "Report!"

Her eyes were wide with fear. "An ANBU reported that he spotted two Akatsuki members — Kakuzu and Hidan — lurking out in the forest! Tsunade-sama, they're going to attack at dawn!"

The Godaime Hokage suddenly felt very old and weary. Dread twisted in her stomach. "Oh, Kami," she breathed, closing her eyes and groaning. "The village…"

Shizune nodded, looking extremely upset. "We need to dispatch a carrier hawk to Suna immediately."

Tsunade sighed slowly, grimacing to herself. "Very well," she agreed. "Send carrier hawks to Suna and Taki, as well." Shizune nodded again. "Also, wake up the village; begin evacuation immediately."

Suddenly, the door was kicked open.

"Don't."

Tsunade and Shizune leapt back, drawing weapons. Sasuke stood before them, a chakra-band-tied Sakura on one side and a stranger — whom Sasuke was pointing his kusanagi at — on the other.

"What the—"

"Sakura!"

Tsunade gathered the nineteen-year-old up in a bone-crushing hug, slicing off her chakra bands. Sakura hugged the woman back happily, smiling and laughing.

"Oh, Sakura," she murmured, pulling back to look her over. "I thought I'd never see you again." She glared over at Sasuke. "What the hell did you do to my student, Uchiha?"

He grunted. "She's alive, isn't she? That was your terms of the agreement."

Tsunade frowned disapprovingly at him before looking at Ryuzaki. "Who is this?" she demanded.

"My close friend," Sakura immediately replied. She shot a fiery glare at Sasuke. "He took him as a hostage and nearly cut his head off."

Tsunade was suddenly glaring at Sasuke again. "_Excuse_ me?" she hissed. "You tried to kill one of my student's _close friends_?"

"He's not from Konoha or Suna," the boy snapped. "Also your terms of the agreement."

"You need an attitude adjustment, you arrogant little shit," the woman scolded. "You're lucky I don't throw you out of my village."

"That would be in violation of your contract."

She scowled. "Enough with the bullshit, Uchiha," she growled. "What did you mean when you said _'Don't'_?"

He eyed her in irritation. "Don't," he repeated. "As in, do not. Is that concept too large for you to understand?" The Hokage clenched her fists in anger. "I meant exactly what I said: don't. Do not evacuate the village."

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Because the village is surrounded by the entire Akatsuki."


	12. Backwards, Forward, In Every Direction

Wow. I didn't realize how incredibly short this chapter was until I uploaded it. Sorry, sorry! ^^' *dodges flying objects* Um. Right. Ahem.

Okay, so first things first: I rewrote the prologue of this story because I received an oh-so-kind flame on it. You all need to go back and read it to understand something that happens in this chapter.

Note to Flamers:  
I am about to make an ass out of myself, but frankly, I don't care. You see, just because a person writes something in a story does not mean it'll actually happen IN THE FREAKING ANIME/MANGA. GET THAT THROUGH YOUR HEAD. Is that so damn hard to understand? I don't think so. It's called OPINION. As in, what I THINK should happen, not what REALLY happens. Get it yet?

I really appreciate it when people point out my mistakes; in fact, I encourage everyone to. But when people flame me because they don't like how I wrote something, it pisses me off. It's not your damn story, flamer; it's _mine_. So if you don't like it, THEN DON'T FUCKING READ IT. SIMPLE.

Ahem.

Now that I've gotten that out of my system...

To my lovely reviewers:  
Thank you so much for your support! I really appreciate it! :) I hope you all like this chapter.

Please read and review!

* * *

Ten minutes ago, Sakura had been right there along with her shishou, demanding to know how Sasuke knew that the village was surrounded. And now? Sakura was tired of yelling at Sasuke. So she let the Hokage yell at him while she conversed quietly with Ryuzaki.

"I'm so sorry about this," she mumbled for nearly the thousandth time. "I had no idea Sasuke would kidnap you like that."

"It's quite alright," he said, trying to make her understand that she could _quit apologizing already_. "I've never been a hostage before. It was exhilarating."

Sakura paused and stared at him blankly. Then, she abruptly burst out laughing. Ryuzaki felt the slightest pulls of a smile.

He was seated on the — ironically enough — _leaf-colored_ couch in Tsunade's office, Sakura crouched down before him, healing his poor feet. Ryuzaki never wore shoes or socks; that was just a fact of life. And Sasuke forcing the shoeless wonder to walk through a city, a forest, and a village? It was beyond cruel. So needless to say, his feet were pretty cut up.

Sakura sat up with a smile, the pale green chakra fading from her hands.

"How does that feel?" she asked.

Ryuzaki looked down at his feet and wiggled his toes. "Cold," he admitted. Sakura blinked in confusion. "You chakra was warm."

For once, his eyes shifted away to look at something else. Sakura stared at him in shock. Was he…? No. No way. The great detective L didn't get embarrassed. She beamed brightly.

"Do you want some socks?" she offered. "I'm sure we could find you some."

Ryuzaki shook his head. "No, thank you."

The door flew open, and all hell broke loose.

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

Sakura was suddenly tackled to the ground, the breath leaving her lungs in a _whoosh_. Naruto hugged her tightly, a mess of tears, laughter, and sunny grins.

"Oh, Sakura-chan!" he cried. "You're alive! I knew teme'd find you! I knew it!"

Ryuzaki watched with an unreadable expression as Naruto picked her up and the rest of her team crowded around happily. Kakashi ruffled her hair lovingly.

"Welcome back, Sakura-chan," he said with his usual smile.

Yamato took her into an awkward one-armed hug, looking slightly embarrassed and relieved at the same time. "I'm glad you're alright," he remarked.

Sai shot her one of his infamous smiles, but it didn't look entirely fake. "Good to see you again, Ugly."

Sakura glared playfully at him for the nickname, cracking a smile.

Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Shino had also been brought up to Tsunade's office, thanks to Shizune. The long teary reunion carried on until Naruto noticed something.

"TEME!" he yelled, suddenly rounding on Sasuke furiously. "Why does Sakura-chan look beat-up?"

Sasuke glared at the blond. "She's alive, you dumbass," he snapped. "Be grateful I even did that much."

Sakura broke into the argument with a hateful glare at the Uchiha.

"Oh, fuck you, Sasuke!" she spat. "It sure didn't _fell_ like you were trying to keep me alive! What was it you said to me? Oh yeah: 'I wasn't asking your opinion. Be quiet and do as I say, or amnesty be damned, I will _kill_ you. Don't you dare think that I won't do it. You mean _nothing_ to me. Naruto, Kakashi, the village — I don't give a damn about any of it. Hit me again, and I'll tear you apart.'"

Naruto bristled in fury, jumping at the dark-haired shinobi. "How dare you!" he shouted. "Take it back RIGHT NOW! Apologize to Sakura-chan, bastard!"

"I've got nothing to apologize for!" he hissed back lowly, ducking a punch.

"ENOUGH!" Tsunade shrieked, scaring the hell out of everyone — minus Sasuke — in the room. They all froze under her vicious glower. "Everyone," she growled slowly, "just _shut up_. We are not _children_. There are more pressing matters to attend to right now that who beat up who" — she spared a deadly look at Sasuke, promising with that gaze that he'd feel the consequences later — "such as, oh I don't know, the _Akatsuki_!"

They all — again, minus Sasuke — flinched at her tone. The only reason Sasuke was sticking around was because the Akatsuki had surrounded the village. It was simple: the Akatsuki was here, and it was his perfect chance to kill his brother. Nothing more.

Tsunade drew in a sharp breath to calm herself. "Now, listen up," she snapped. "I've already stationed every ANBU I have to defend the village on every side. Now we must begin the hard part: waking up every shinobi in the village and moving the civilians, academy students, and genin to a safe location."

They all nodded seriously. Ryuzaki watched the meeting progress with wide, calculating eyes. This shinobi may not have nearly the level of technology as his world, but their military powers — even _without_ nuclear weapons — far surpassed his world's. It was incredible.

Shizune turned to Tsunade with widening eyes. "Tsunade-sama, the sky—"

But she wasn't fast enough. Before she could finish, a horrific explosion went off on the east side of the village. They all went still and listened to the sound of screams and shouts.

It was dawn, and the Akatsuki had come to destroy the village.

Sakura whipped around to L. "Ryuzaki, stay—"

And then, the Hokage tower went up in a blazing tower of smoke.

The explosion threw them all out into the street with a jarring force, falling from many stories high. Sakura grabbed Ryuzaki's arm halfway down and pulled him to her, circling her body around his so that we would land on her. All decent shinobi could survive serious injuries — like falling out a howevertallitwas-story window — that civilians couldn't. They could take many things and still live to see another day. (But if their head got cut off or something like that…well, they were shit out of luck.)

Sakura's back slammed into the ground as she landed first; she had the most weight with Ryuzaki in tow, after all. The air was forced from her lungs painfully and her teeth rattled. The others landed heavily around her, grunting and groaning from the impact. At least they weren't on fire.

Ryuzaki mumbled something and placed a hand to his head, rolling off Sakura.

"Thank you," he said quietly, grimacing.

Sakura barely managed a nod, gasping for breath. If she thought hurt like hell now, she was going to be _dead_ tomorrow.

"Is everyone alright?" Tsunade called, slowly pushing herself up.

There was a consecutive groan from the entire group.

Ryuzaki sat up and held out a hand to help Sakura up as well. She took his hand gratefully, smiling.

"Oh, man," Kiba murmured, staring up at the Hokage tower.

They all watched grimly as it crumpled to the ground like a piece of paper.

"Man, we are so screwed."

The seriousness of the situation sunk in and anticipation crackled in the air like lightning. Civilians ran screaming on all sides, some injured and some unscratched. Almost all of them were crying. A few shinobi darted past them in every direction, running to help their comrades. One or two skidded to a halt beside Tsunade.

"Lady Hokage!" one of them exclaimed in shock. "Are you injured?"

"I'm fine," the blond replied gruffly, standing up. "Go fend off the Akatsuki! They must not get into the village!"

The two straightened up. "Yes, ma'am!"

The rest of them rose to their feet as the pair flashed away.

"There's no more time for planning!" Tsunade barked at them. "Just follow your instincts and protect the village!"

A chorus of 'hai's followed. Sakura glanced at Ryuzaki as the others disappeared.

"You need to get to safety," she told him gravely.

He looked around slowly at all of the death and destruction, his eyes taking it all in. The screaming, the bleeding, the crying, the running, the panic, the fighting…

_Is this what war truly is?_ he wondered absently.

It was horrible.

"How do you do it?" he asked quietly, staring straight at Sakura.

He ignored everything else around him, waiting for her answer. Right now, as he looked only at Sakura, he felt as if he were seeing her for the first time. Her pale pink hair messy and dirty, her mint-colored eyes bright with the thrill of battle, her skin smeared with ash and blood… She was like a completely different person. And in that moment, Ryuzaki knew he would never find someone who looked so beautiful to him again.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully, smiling softly. "I just do."

It was like a scene from one of those cheesy movies. The muted explosions and people running everywhere, the two main characters smiling stupidly at each other in the middle of it. Their hearts in their eyes and leaning forward for a kiss—

No.

That doesn't happen in the real world.

See, this is how is _actually _went.

The muted explosions and people running everywhere, the two main characters smiling stupidly at each other in the middle of it — and bam. Explosion.

Sakura and Ryuzaki were thrown back at least thirty feet as a familiar clay spider blew up beside them, tumbling through the ruins of a building. The kunoichi swore under her breath and dragged herself to her feet, checking her companion over for any injuries. A few scratches and a lot of smoke stains, but nothing else.

"These Akatsuki people," Ryuzaki muttered, following Sakura as she ran through the crowded streets. She had to slow down for him to keep pace, but she didn't mind. Poor Ryuzaki; he still wasn't wearing any shoes. "They must favor bombs quite a lot."

"_That's_ an understatement," Sakura remarked dryly. "One of their members is a psycho arsonist that blows shit up for a living. He uses _the mouths on his hands_ to mold some special kind of C-3 clay into bombs."

Ryuzaki stared at her blankly, nearly running into a few people. "Excuse me. Did I hear you correctly? Did you say—"

"Yes. Mouths on his hands."

"…I see…rather…interesting…"

Sakura flashed him a smile. "Don't worry," she said. "They're all freaks."

"Ah…"

Then, she seemed to realize something, feeling incredibly stupid that she hadn't noticed it before. "Wait, why are you following me?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"You should be getting to safety with the other civilians!" Sakura ordered crossly. "The Akatsuki are dangerous!"

"And where, pray tell, is safety?"

Sakura glared, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. He had a good point. The whole damn village was kind of on fire…

"Fine," she relented. "But stick close; don't wander off. I'll protect you the best I can."

Ryuzaki gave a nod and smiled in the way that creeped Misa out, nearly making Sakura trip. "I trust you."

She blinked and them beamed. "Good."

"Sakura-chan!" came Naruto's voice from up ahead.

They both looked up to see the blond racing toward them, his eyes wide.

"Sakura-chan, come quick!" he said urgently as he skidded to a halt in front of them. "You've gotta see this!"

"What is it?" she demanded, following him through a screen of smoke. Ryuzaki coughed at her side, wincing as he stepped on broken glass. His poor feet…

"It's—! I don't know! You've just gotta come see!"

Sensing that something was off, Sakura took another good look around. All of the Konoha-nin were going in the same direction as them, no longer running to different locations. The explosions had stopped and the only sounds of battle were coming from directly ahead.

_What's going on?_ Sakura wondered in confusion, eyes narrowing. _Why did the Akatsuki stop attacking on all sides? Are they all clustered here together in this one spot?_

Naruto led them around a half-demolished building, and they were suddenly right in front of the battle. All three came to a stop immediately, breathing heavily. Sakura had been right; all of the Akatsuki were clustered together at that one place. But…

"Those are the Akatsuki?" Ryuzaki asked. Sakura nodded. "Then," he continued, "am I correct in saying that what I'm seeing is something that doesn't happen very often?"

"More like _never_ happens!" Naruto agreed.

Sakura had a flashback to that ugly day when she and Team Kakashi were fighting the Akatsuki.

.

.

.

_Springing to her feet, she formed a chakra scalpel in her right hand. Pein was cool and collected, not so much as breathing heavily. Now she understood why Amegakure revered him as a god. She darted toward him, packing chakra into her legs to increase her speed. He dodged smoothly, catching her elbow. She sucked in a sharp breath, but instead of breaking it, he gripping it tightly. Confusion clouding her judgment, Sakura met his gaze._

"_Stop fighting," he ordered bluntly. "Lives need not to be wasted."_

_She glared at him furiously, but didn't pull away. She was using this chance to form a plan. "Are you kidding me?" she hissed. "You're trying to kill Naruto!"_

_His ringed gray eyes were slightly hard, showing that he had no intentions of changing his mind. "Go home," he said simply. "Go home and leave this fight with your life."_

"_Never!" Sakura growled. "I'm not abandoning Naruto!"_

_Something sparked in the Leader's eyes. "Then take him with you."_

.

Was this why…? Sakura hadn't understood when he said that to her. She'd been shocked, not knowing what to think. After all, the Akatsuki Leader had basically told her to protect Naruto. But then, he'd tried to capture him in that portal thing. Why? It still didn't make sense. Why would he…

And then, it clicked.

Pein hadn't been trying to _capture_ Naruto. (Well, okay, he had; but for a different reason that everyone thought.) He'd been trying to send Naruto somewhere than only he could reach — to _protect_ him.

Before them was the most incredible thing anyone in the village of Konohagakure no Sato had ever seen.

The Akatsuki Leader Pein, his partner Konan, and Uchiha Itachi had all turned on the one named Tobi and were attacking him full-force.

o o o O O O o o o

Back in Ryuzaki's world, things were…not exactly normal, but still somewhat alright.

Light had temporarily taken over the task force while Ryuzaki was…on vacation…and they were all trying their damnedest to catch Kira. It wasn't easy, though. They had just discovered that the Yotsuba group employed Eraldo Coil, the second greatest detective in the world, to track down L. After a few minutes of spazzing and "Holy shit, what are we gonna do"s, Watari kindly informed them that Eraldo Coil was one of L's many fake names.

So they were safe.

Now, they just had to figure out how to go about doing this…

* * *

Didn't see that coming, huh? :D


	13. Together Again

Okay, yeah; I know some of you saw it coming. I just like to think that sometimes I can surprise people. ^^; Well, since I haven't really been able to reply to anyone's reviews, I thought I should go ahead and do it now.

**¡Sunshine**  
Thank you! :)

**Danielle The Grammer Nazi**  
I'm glad you liked it! Most of the time, I'm not really sure if my attempts at humor are funny. ^^;

**Yuti-Chan**  
Haha, me too! I couldn't help but poke fun at poor Deidara-kun.

**CakesInTheSummer**  
I'm glad someone thought it was funny. ^_^ Like I said before, I'm not really confident in my ability to write humor. Thank you!

**Deviously Ruined Rose**  
Sorry, sorry! ^^' I tried to make it surprising, but...yeah...I kinda failed at that. I pretty much gave it away. XD

**superfan8**  
Thank you very much! :) I'm glad you think so.

**BrokenBlossom**  
Yeah, I couldn't help but do that to L. XD His poor feet. Thank you!

**Doll-Fin-Chick**  
Haha, glad I could surprise you. So now...this! *points at new chapter*

**Thirrin73**  
Thank you so much! You have no idea how happy I was when I read your review! TTwTT I haven't heard word back from my flammer yet, so I wonder if I was too mean... Thank you again! I feel like I should thank you twice! ^_^

**Silent Affair  
**I'm glad you liked it! Thank you!

**Twisted Musalih**  
Thank you! :) If you don't mind me asking, what's a Musalih? ^^'

**DigitalVomy**  
Haha, thank you! I always go insane when my favorite authors don't update, and it makes me happy to know that someone feels the same about my fic. :)

**Luka1Sakura**  
Oh, yes. Sasuke is a very big asshole. I'm making him pay for it. :) Thanks!

**Yumetaka Kourui**  
Thank you! I'm glad you like my writing! ^^' I personally don't think I write all that well, but thank you! :)

**reneenatalie**  
Thank you! You made my day, too, when you reviewed! :) It was so hard in the beginning to get people to review, and I'm happy that so many people tell me what they think now.

**AngelOfDarkness1005**  
Thank you! You're the first person to point out my grammer mistakes, and I really appreciate it. ^^' I'm trying to dish out the chapters fast because I'm on summer break, so I'm missing a lot of stuff... Thanks again! ^_^

**stringless-marionette**  
Um, I really sorry, but I can't tell if you were being sarcastic or not. ^^' Sorry, sorry! Thank you for the review!

**Noni. Likes. Dn **(I'm sorry! Stupid FanFiction is acting up and it wouldn't let me take out the spaces in your name!)**  
**Haha, thank you! I'm glad we agree on that - I'm the author, and _I'm_ yelling at L to do it, too! XD I can't wait to write a scene where it happens, but I'm also kind of afraid that I'll screw it up. *.*

Thank you all again for reviewing! If I missed someone, please tell me and I'll make sure to acknowledge you! :)

Please read and review!

* * *

All of the Konoha-nin had stopped fighting. They were no longer under attack; the Akatsuki _were attacking themselves_.

Pein, Konan, and Itachi had suddenly turned on Tobi and were trying their damnedest to kill the man. "Tobi" fought back like a beast; Sakura hated to admit, but the man kicked _ass_. She hadn't thought it was possible. He was supposed to be the idiot of the organization, the incredibly-more-stupid-than-Naruto member. So how the hell was he fending off the Leader, the Leader's partner, and Uchiha Itachi all at once? It was unreal.

The one named Zetsu — another "freak", as Sakura had oh-so-kindly put it — jumped in the fight on Tobi's side.

"What is the meaning of this, Pein?" came a deep, furious yell.

"Who just spoke?" Naruto whispered to Sakura.

"I have no idea; none of their mouths moved."

"The masked one," Ryuzaki supplied helpfully.

They both turned and stared at him blankly. "But he's…"

"A complete dumbass," Sakura finished for her almost brother.

The detective shrugged. "He doesn't seem like one to me."

The two exchanged a glance, snapping their attention back to the fight when the Akatsuki Leader's voice rang out loud and clear.

"Your vision is corrupted, Madara," he growled, shocking every shinobi within hearing distance. "You plan to crush the world, not enforce the peace we agreed on."

"Your peace is petty!" Tobi/Madara snapped back, suddenly whipping around and delivering a Tsunade-worthy kick to Konan's abdomen.

The blue-haired woman was thrown back, slamming into the side of a building with so much force that it collapsed around her. Itachi launched an enormous fireball at the masked man, forcing him to leap high into the air.

"_Madara_?" gasped a male member of the Hyuga Clan.

"Who is that?" Sakura asked him, startling the man.

He looked her, Naruto, and Ryuzaki over slowly, calculating. "You've never heard the name?" he murmured. The two shinobi shook their heads. "He's Madara, as in _Uchiha_ Madara."

Their eyes widened as they looked at each other.

"_What_?" Naruto choked out.

"That's not possible!" Sakura objected. "All of the Uchiha's except Sasuke and Itachi are dead!"

The Hyuga's gaze was grave. "Apparently not," he disagreed, looking back at the fight. They followed suit. "Uchiha Madara was both the founder of the Uchiha Clan and of Konohagakure no Sato, along with the Shodai Hokage."

"Are you _serious_?" Sakura asked breathlessly.

"Damn, that guy is _old_!"

The Hyuga shot Naruto an irritated look.

"Leader-sama, what the hell is going on?" Kisame demanded. He and the rest of the Akatsuki were standing awkwardly to the side, not knowing what to do.

"'Tobi' is really Uchiha Madara," Konan supplied with a grunt, pushing herself out of the ruins of the building. "He was planning on killing Pein and using the Akatsuki to destroy every shinobi in the entire world." She darted back into the fight, disintegrating into paper when Madara came very close to knocking her head off with a punch. "Then he would kill off the Akatsuki members and keep the world for himself."

They all knew in that moment that every time Pein had seemed angry at the Hidden Leaf Village, it had been a lie; it was a rouse to lower Madara's suspicion. He had ordered an attack on the village Madara hated the most so that he could in turn take the man out when his guard was down. Very slick.

"What the fuck?" Hidan yelled, glaring at Tobi/Madara. "I _knew_ I never liked that sneaky little shit!"

Madara threw a massive fireball, trademark of the Uchiha Clan, at the trio before him, and Pein was forced to use his Shinra Tensei to repel it. Yelling out a few choice curses, Hidan flew into battle on the side of his Leader. He flung his huge three-bladed crimson scythe at Zetsu, who disappeared beneath the ground. Pein seemed to approve of Hidan's interference, and suddenly the Akatsuki knew they had to choose as well; fight for their Leader or an almost-immortal oldest-Uchiha-in-the-world psychopath that had the power to crush entire villages in the palm of his hand.

Well, talk about being up Shit Creek without a paddle.

Pein and Madara sprung apart, standing easily a hundred feet away from each other. Konan, Itachi, and Hidan stood with Pein, while Zetsu resurfaced to stand beside Madara. They all glared at each other, waiting tensely for the rest of the Akatsuki to make their move. In the end, Kisame joined his former Mizukage and Kakuzu climbed on board, as well. That left Deidara and Sasori to shift over to Pein's side. Pein may have had more firepower, but Madara was a hell of a lot stronger.

"Kakuzu, you bastard!" Hidan shouted across to his former partner. "You fucking backstabber!" (Like any of the Akatsuki could talk about backstabbing.) "I'll sacrifice your worthless ass to Jashin-sama!"

The two opposing groups stared each other down in the middle of the half-ruined village of Konohagakure, quite the strange scene for a battle to the death between them. Sakura swore under her breath.

"We're fucked either way," she murmured to Naruto, who gave a short nod in agreement. "No matter what, the winner is gonna destroy the village and try to kill you."

"No," Ryuzaki disagreed suddenly, drawing their attention. His eyes were wide and calculating as he looked back and forth between the two pieces of Akatsuki. "Not true."

"Explain."

All three of them jumped, whirling around to find Sasuke glaring at the detective. The man frowned.

"The masked one — if he wins, he'll destroy the village. He obviously hates you all, from the way he's acting. But the orange-haired one won't."

"Why not?" Sasuke demanded, eyes narrowed.

Ryuzaki looked at him blankly. "He wants peace," he replied simply. "He said so himself. So obviously he doesn't want to start a war."

"He brought the Akatsuki to attack our village," Sakura pointed out uncertainly. "It looks like he wanted a war, to me."

"No," Ryuzaki repeated. "I have been profiling criminals and mass murders much longer than you have; he seeks to kill the masked man and the subordinates that betrayed him, and if he wins, he will leave you and your village in peace."

Sasuke muttered something about him being full of shit, but Sakura held Ryuzaki's gaze evenly. She could tell: he was completely certain about his deduction.

Well, she decided, if he's sure, then it has to be true.

"So, then, what?" she asked. "We're still kind of screwed. Madara is a lot stronger than Pein; his chakra reserves are incredible. Hell, _Kisame's_ chakra reserves are demon-worthy. He's going to lose…" She saw a gleam in Ryuzaki's eyes that she didn't like. "What are you…oh. No. No way. Not happening."

Naruto looked at the dark-haired man in confusion, and Sasuke shot him a sharp glance.

"If you think Pein-san will lose," Ryuzaki said, confirming Sakura's fears, "then fight with him."

"No way!" Naruto shouted. "He's evil! He's tried to kill me, like, a thousand times!"

"No," Sasuke growled lowly, eyes flashing red with the Sharingan. "I refuse to fight alongside Itachi. I'll _kill_ him."

Sakura groaned loudly. "Son of a — ah, _damn it!_" She knew he was right. She fixed a stern look on Ryuzaki. "Don't move."

He nodded, and Naruto had the sudden feeling that Sakura was about to do something incredibly stupid.

"Sakura-chan, what—"

Before he could finish, Sakura leapt to her feet and darted into the center of the hundred-foot clearing between the two groups of Akatsuki. The Konoha shinobi froze, a few of them calling to her in shock.

"Sakura, what the hell are you doing?" Sasuke hissed.

"Get out of there, you idiot!" Kiba yelled. "You're gonna get yourself killed!"

Sakura ignored all of them, looking around at all the disbelieving Akatsuki faces. She focused her gaze on Pein, staring at him with hard green eyes.

"Akatsuki Leader," she called, raising her voice slightly to be heard. "I remember your words the day we fought." His ringed gray eyes flickered. "I've read between the lines to what I believe was your meaning; I hope I haven't made the wrong decision."

Then, to everyone's shock, she ran to his side of the battle. For a long moment, no one moved a muscle. The Akatsuki on "her" side were staring at her with blank, disbelieving looks.

"_Stop fighting. Lives need not to be wasted."_

"_Are you kidding me? You're trying to kill Naruto!"_

"_Go home. Go home and leave this fight with your life."_

"_Never! I'm not abandoning Naruto!"_

"_Then take him with you."_

The Leader met her gaze evenly, then gave a curt nod.

Suddenly, a monumental moment took place.

Naruto sprang to his feet and ran to stand beside Sakura. A jinchuriki fighting along side the Akatsuki Leader. It was unheard of. Nevertheless, he glared at Pein.

"Listen, Mister," he mumbled. "I don't really know if I can trust you, but Sakura-chan sorta does, so I guess I have to, too. And besides…you were Ero— er, Jiraiya's student, too, right? So you can't be _too_ fucked up, I guess. I mean, you want peace and all."

"Getting aid from the pathetic Konoha-nin, now are we, Pein?" Madara hissed scathingly. "You're even weaker than I thought."

Naruto's decision and Madara's last words made up a lot of minds amongst the Konoha shinobi: the psycho had to go, and they could put up with the not-really-psycho Akatsuki Leader for a little while.

A lot of Konoha-nin and a little more than half the Akatsuki verses Madara and three of his troops. The odds still didn't look good (for the larger group) but they were slightly better.

Sakura wasn't sure who moved first, but suddenly the battle was raging again. Deidara's bombs — now thankfully no longer aimed at her — sailed over her head and flew like homing devices at the enemies. She attacked the first one she reached, which happened to be Kakuzu. He shed his Akatsuki cloak and five ugly creatures made of what looked like black tentacles burst from his back, each wearing a creepy mask. They began shooting different elemental jutsu in every direction, seriously injuring whoever the attacks touched.

Sakura dodged a lightning-style jutsu and kicked off the ground, drawing her leg back for an axe kick. The tentacle-thing slithered away with surprising speed, easily avoid her earth-shattering blow. She wished, not for the first time, that she had some kind of incredible ninjutsu like the Rasengan or Chidori. It would really come in handy.

Sasuke flashed into the battle and went after the first Akatsuki member he laid eyes on: Uchiha Madara. He didn't care which side they were on; he would kill every last Akatsuki. Flying forward with speed amazing for even a shinobi, he snatched out his kusanagi and channeled his Chidori through it like a current. Pein, Konan, and — Sasuke grit his teeth — Itachi were all three going at Madara, but he didn't care. As soon as he took out the Uchiha Clan founder, he would move to the next name on his list: the Uchiha Clan murderer.

Sasuke appeared behind Madara and thrust out his Chidori-charged kusanagi, which the man avoided as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He wielded the Sharingan as well, Sasuke reminded himself. He had to be careful and take this fight seriously.

"Such a pity, Itachi," Madara taunted, launching another giant fireball to force his attackers back. "And to think, you could've joined me."

Itachi didn't dignify his words with a response, merely flashing out of sight and reappearing a few feet to his opponent's right. Madara slashed out at the man with a kunai, quick as a serpent, and sliced a long clean cut across his chest. His eyes narrowed and he leapt back, barely avoiding the explosion of what he now realized had been a clone.

"We took down that pathetic clan together," Madara said lowly, dodging a combo attack from Pein and Konan, then ducking to avoid Sasuke's shuriken. "Together, we could be unstoppable."

Sasuke's temper flared at the man's words. He had helped Itachi kill off the Uchiha Clan. He was going to rip him _apart_.

Growling angrily, Sasuke dove in for another strike with his kusanagi. Grim satisfaction swirled in his chest when he realized that the older man had no time and no room to dodge his attack. He had him. His wicked blade pierced the man's chest and erupted from his back—

But no, wait.

His blade went _through_ the man, and his momentum carried him to phase through him as well. Sasuke landed awkwardly behind him, whipping around in disbelief.

What the hell had just happened? How could he have possibly done that?

He could feel the smirk hidden behind Madara's mask as he turned to face Sasuke.

"What the hell are you?" he demanded.

Madara gave a low chuckle. "The most powerful shinobi in the world, boy; you can't defeat me."

He suddenly disappeared — _actually_ disappeared, not merely running so fast that he was invisible — and reappeared right in front of Sasuke. The sun glinted off the cold metal of a kunai in his hand, and when Sasuke's Sharingan finally caught up and he could see the man, the kunai was inches from his forehead.

In that moment, Sasuke knew there was no possible way for him to dodge. He was going to die without having taken his revenge. He was in shock.

"Sasuke!" he heard someone scream from far away — Sakura, if his ears were as sharp as he remembered — and time seemed to slow.

The kunai was barely an inch from his forehead, and in the next second, he would be dead. It came closer, closer; the sharp tip was about to touch his skin —

And then, a hand grabbed Madara's wrist and literally _threw_ the man easily fifty. That strength, his mind was screaming. He only knew two people, two kunoichi, who could throw someone like that. And it sure as hell wasn't Tsunade.

His eyes rose every-so-slowly to see that familiar face that he had once loved more than life itself.

Itachi.

His brother had saved him.

Sasuke was frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at Itachi. No words would come out. His brother's Sharingan blazed brightly, but he wasn't cold or glaring; he was… was he _relieved_? Before he could muster up the will to speak, to demand _why_ his brother had saved him, Itachi gave a short nod.

_We will talk later._ it seemed to say.

And then, he turned and darted after Madara. Pein followed suit, but Konan paused to glance at the youngest Uchiha.

"He doesn't hate you, you know," she murmured. "He still loves you."

She disappeared through the fighting after her partner, but Sasuke remained standing still. What had just happened…it was impossible. Itachi saved him? He didn't hate him? He still _loved_ him?

There was no possible way it could be true.

His brother was a _evil_. He killed their entire family with the help of that sociopathic piece of shit. He _killed_ them. He was a _murderer_.

_But so are you._ a tiny, horrible piece of his mind whispered. _You've killed just as many people as he has._

_No._ he growled back. _I've killed criminals, not families._

_Those criminals had families, too. And what about Naruto and Sakura? Didn't you try to kill _them_ as well?_

Sasuke had no answer. He refused to waste his time talking to a voice in his head that probably didn't even exist — some stupid _conscience_ thing that people always go on about.

He had some murderers to kill, and that was it. End of story.

.

"Rasenshuriken!"

Naruto threw the giant shuriken-shaped jutsu at Kisame, who brought up his Samehada to protect himself. The giant sword actually _caught_ the jutsu in its spikes and sucked in dry of chakra. It began to wiggle in anticipation, hungry for more. Kisame chuckled lowly, grinning widely to show off his shark-like teeth.

"It's no use, kid," he laughed. "Haven't you figured that out yet? But if you want to keep throwing chakra at my Samehada, here, then be my guest; I won't stop you."

Naruto grit his teeth and glared at the blue-skinned man, watching as he dodged attacks from all of Team Gai. Damn, he was good. His chakra were scary, to say the least; he had as much chakra as Naruto — _with the kyubi_. The guy was practically a demon, himself. Naruto cursed under his breath, pulling out a few kunai and running at the man again. He'd hit him eventually, and when he did, Kisame would go down like a sack of bricks.

"Sasuke!"

Naruto skidded to a halt about ten feet away from Kisame, head shooting up as he heard Sakura's scream. He looked around wildly for his long-lost best friend, stomach twisted with dread when he found him.

Madara was thrusting a kunai at him, and the weapon was only inches away from his forehead.

_No!_ he screamed inwardly. _Sasuke can't die! I won't let him!_

Turning on his heel, Naruto ran toward the fight; he knew he would never make it in time, but he had to try.

Then, Itachi suddenly grabbed Madara's wrist and threw the guy Sakura-style across the clearing. Naruto stopped, throwing up dirt with his sandals, and watched in disbelief as Sasuke slowly looked up at his brother. They stared at each other for a long time before Itachi turned and flew after Madara. Pein followed but Konan stopped, saying something to Sasuke before going as well.

Naruto didn't know what to do. His best friend was safe now, but what was his mental condition? He seemed to be fighting a war inside his head.

Making up his mind, Naruto turned and tore after Madara. He knew what Sakura would say in this situation: "I know you want to help him, but he has to work this out on his own."

He ran through the battle field, grimacing to himself as he saw one or two Konoha-nin lying motionlessly on the ground. They were only fighting against four people, but they were crazy-strong. This battle was deadly.

He passed right by Sakura, sparing a moment to flash her a wave before diving back into the crowd of shinobi. He took a long minute dodging bodies and looking around before he found them.

_There._

Growling to himself, Naruto produced a clone and got right to work on forming a Rasengan. He darted forward and leapt directly at Madara, nearly landing on him as he thrust out his attack.

"Rasengan!"

Madara's head snapped up and he swore, using his space-time ninjutsu to make Naruto phase right through him. Naruto tumbled to the ground in shock, rounding back to stare at the man wide-eyed.

"What the hell?" he yelled, jabbing a finger at him. "What kind of freak are you? You're supposed to be weak! You're older than Tsunade-baa-chan!"

"Far from it, kyubi," Madara sneered. "I'm more powerful than you could ever imagine."

Naruto glared at him, charging in for hand-to-hand combat. Ten feet away, he felt someone grab the back of his jacket. He struggled wildly, whipping his head around to find Itachi holding him back.

"Keep your distance," he murmured quietly. "He seeks to capture you; do not do his work for him."

Naruto openly stared at the Uchiha, not sure what to think. First he saves Sasuke and now he sorta-saves him? This guy was way too confusing.

"Come, little kitsune," Madara taunted, spreading his arms wide. "Or are you too afraid to fight me?"

Naruto bristled, scowling at him. "Shut the hell up, you old windbag!"

Madara chuckled deeply, easily avoiding another attack from both Pein and Konan. Something dark flickered behind him, catching Naruto's eye.

_What is _that_?_ he wondered in confusion, watching bright blue chakra begin to surge. Then it clicked.

Sasuke suddenly came crashing _through_ Madara from behind much like he had before, twisting with cat-like grace and landing on his feet. Naruto felt Itachi release his jacket, and he looked up at the man. His face was unreadable and his eyes flickered with something Naruto couldn't understand. After a moment, he ran forward to join Sasuke.

"Just like old times, huh, teme?" he murmured, eyes narrowed and a grin in place.

The Uchiha grunted, but he could see the beginnings of a smirk on his lips. It was like they were Team 7 again, fighting side-by-side to protect the village. Naruto turned his head slightly to the left, eyes remaining locked on Madara.

"Sakura-chan!" he called.

From his peripheral vision, he watched Sakura's head shoot up as she halted.

"Come on!"

A moment later, Sakura landed on his other side, breathing slightly heavy. She took one look at Naruto and Sasuke together and smiled.

"Team 7," she breathed, earning a nod from Naruto and a grunt from Sasuke.

They were all together again, at least for a little while, and they had some psychopath ass to kick.


	14. All At Once

Wow. Okay, I know this chapter is short - ducks to avoid flying objects - but, uh...give me a minute; I'll think of an excuse eventually... ^^' Sorry, sorry!

My friend** Shadowstep of MoonClan **has this kick-ass AWESOME story that you all need to go read, especially if you like the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. It's called _Up Above The World So High_. This girl, Charykit (ahem, *cough*Sakura*cough*) lives in a world of human/cat hybrids, and is part of the Blazing Fire Clan. But one day, the Clan gets destroyed by the Raging Water Clan, and she's sent 300 years into the future - to a world where only humans (ninja) live. She sees the reincarnations of some of her friends there, too! It's really cool, guys! You've gotta read it! :D

Please read and review!

* * *

They were Team 7 — the greatest genin team to ever come from Konoha, and maybe even the entire world. They were the second Sennin, all three trained by one of the original Sennin. They would be legends some day if they weren't already.

And they were kicking some major ass. With their excellent teamwork and incredible jutsu, they were wiping the floor with Madara. It was almost too easy.

Right?

Wrong.

No, the old geezer was tearing them a new one.

Naruto grit his teeth as a hard kick from Madara sent him flying. Damn, this guy was _good_. He was taking all three of them at once and throwing them back, demanding something more challenging. None of them had managed to land a single blow on him. He was a _god_.

Sakura flipped over Madara's head and drew her leg up for another axe kick, which he dodged smoothly. Her heel slammed into the ground and the area around her ruptured, an earthquake tearing through the clearing. (She felt a little bad about messing up the village, but that took a backseat to her desire to kill Madara.)

The man's hand shot out with god-like speed and grabbed Sakura by her hair, stirring up painful memories of the Forest of Death. He whipped around like a tornado and threw her as if she weighed less than a pebble. She flew through the air helplessly, rocketing into Sasuke with painful force and knocking him over. They both crashed to the ground and skidded a few feet, while Naruto leapt at Madara again with another Rasengan. He was knocked aside — again — and the Uchiha snatched a hold of his jacket.

"No!" Sakura yelled, scrambling to her feet.

Sasuke jumped to stand as well and they both hurtled toward the pair, double-teaming them. Sakura tackled Naruto to separate him from Madara, while Sasuke thrust his kusanagi at said psychopath. He phased right through him for the thousandth time and twisted in mid-air with surprising grace, touching down with one foot before kicking off again and taking another swing at his elder.

Madara formed a fireball in less than a second and launched it at point-blank range, forcing the trio to retreat a good thirty or so feet. Without so much as looking at each other, they knew what to do. They may have been separated for who knows how long, but their teamwork hadn't suffered any at all.

A clone appeared at Naruto's side, helping him form a Rasengan in his right palm. A Chidori crackled to life in Sasuke's right hand. Bright green chakra blazed around Sakura's right fist, its potency peeling at her black glove. All at once, they ran at Madara from different directions, trapping him within a deadly triangle. Together, they screamed battle cries.

"_Rasengan!_"

"_Chidori!_"

"_Chaa!_"

An enormous explosion erupted as their jutsu connected with their target, throwing them easily a hundred feet back. They sailed through the air and slammed into buildings, knocking down a few on accident. A huge cloud of dust settled over the clearing, and the fighting suddenly stopped as everyone turned to watch wide-eyed. The trio slowly picked themselves out from under large slabs of concrete, wincing at their broken ribs and other bones.

Slowly — painfully slowly — Madara pushed himself off the ground and climbed to his feet. His cloak was torn in a few places and his mask had a large crack, splitting it at an odd angle. Blood dripped slightly down his left arm, and he was obviously furious. He hadn't been able to completely avoid the attacks, but he had dodged any fatal injuries.

Naruto laughed lowly, grimacing at how raspy his voice sounded. "Gotcha, bastard," he called. "That's just the beginning, 'cause we're gonna kick your ass!"

"Hn." Sasuke and Sakura both smirked.

"Got that right," the only female member of the team agreed. "You'll be sorry that messed with us."

Ryuzaki watched from the sidelines, amazed at the battle techniques and maneuvers. It was incredible; these people were human weapons. They didn't need guns or nuclear weapons like his world to kill each other. They were doing just fine with their bare hands and steel blades.

He stuck away from the fight and didn't move, doing as Sakura had told him. He was a genius, after all; he knew he'd be killed if he got anywhere near the battling shinobi. It was all surreal to him, standing here and watching this fight as if it were on an HD television. Very cool. (Besides the whole 'people dying around him' thing. That part wasn't cool.)

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura charged Madara again, only to be thrown back by another powerful fire-style ninjutsu.

"Damn it," Sakura swore, gritting her teeth and pressing a glowing green hand to her side. She healed the gash on the side of her abdomen, courtesy of the jagged piece of concrete she landed on. _If this goes on much longer, _she thought grimly, _we'll lose. We've gotta wrap this up_ — _quick._

Madara smirked in her direction, hearing her curse. "Tiring out already, kunoichi?" he taunted. "My, my; I had no idea Konoha shinobi were so weak nowadays."

Sakura glared at him, and Naruto immediately leapt to her defense.

"Shut up!" he yelled. "Sakura-chan's not weak!"

"Stop delaying and fight!" Sakura snapped at the eldest Uchiha. "Or are _you_ tiring out already? My, my; I had no idea hundred-year-old psychotic freaks were so weak nowadays."

He glowered darkly at her behind his mask, his own words thrown back in is face. "Impudent little girl," he growled. He was suddenly in front of her, holding her up in the air by her throat. "Do not talk big if you cannot back it up."

Sakura grabbed at his wrist, flooding chakra into her hands to detach him from her. Madara glared as she attempted to break his hold, tightening his grip. She coughed, struggling to breathe.

"Let her go!" Naruto screamed, running toward them.

But it was too late. Sakura glared up at Madara, meeting his Sharingan behind the mask.

She was suddenly pulled into a black and blood-stained world that echoed with agonized screams. She was suspended in mid-air, unable to move a muscle, while thousands of weapons tore through her with painful force. It went on for hours, never ending, until familiar faces began to appear: Naruto, Sasuke, Tsunade, Kakashi, Hinata, Kiba, Ryuzaki…

She watched as her friends were all brutally murdered in front of her. She listened to the screams of agony and dark chuckles. She felt the blood splatter her from every direction. She smelled the stench of death and decaying. It was horrible.

_No!_ her mind screamed. _No! Make it stop!_

It dragged on for what seemed like days. In the realm of the Mangekyo, it probably _was_ several days.

That thought was like a slap in the face. In the realm of the Mangekyo. It wasn't real. It was all just an illusion, like a powerful genjutsu. Relief coursed through her like a wildfire. She could deal with genjutsu.

_**This is Madara's mind.**_ her Inner whispered, looking extremely on-edge. She trembled with the need to rip something apart. _**He controls everything that happens here.**_

Sakura could suddenly see Madara before her, standing in front of the continuing murder of her friends. His mask wasn't on in his mind, and she could see his face. His eyes were suspicious.

"_Who are you talking to?"_ he demanded.

And then, Sakura saw her chance. Inner Sakura, who shared her mind, smirked widely in anticipation.

_**You may control everything **_**here**_**…**_ She laughed forebodingly, raising Madara's hackles. _**But what about in **_**my**_** mind?**_

.

In the real world, what seemed like days to Sakura lasted for a fraction of a heartbeat. Naruto had just taken his first step after screaming "Let her go" when Madara suddenly dropped Sakura as if she were on fire.

She fell like a brick and collapsed on the ground, gasping for air in shock. Madara flinched back and his hands shot to his eyes, a startled cry ripping from his throat.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted in worry, racing toward his life-long sister.

Madara whipped back to the girl before him, growling furiously. His mask had fallen off, and blood leaked from the corners of his deadly eyes.

"_You_," he hissed dangerously, lunging for Sakura. "I'll _kill_ you!"

Sakura grit her teeth as he snatched her up by her hair again and slammed a fist into her stomach. She choked out a little blood before careening toward the side of another building. She crashed into it with jarring force, instantly breaking a couple more ribs and her ankle.

"NO!" Naruto screamed, leaping on Madara from behind.

He stumbled forward with the weight of the blond on his back, teeth bared like an animal as he glared deathly over his shoulder at him. He grabbed the boy by his elbow and yanked him off, slamming him into the ground and bringing down his foot to deliver a crushing blow. Sasuke suddenly cannoned into the eldest Uchiha like a battering ram, using his shoulder to throw the man away. He skidded to stand beside Naruto — who was scrambling to his feet — and stared Madara down with narrowed eyes.

_He isn't thinking rationally._ he thought, lips pressed in a hard line. _Whatever Sakura did_ — his eyes flickered over to the unmoving girl before returning to Madara — _really set him off. He's using anger instead of his head. We've got him._

"Sakura-chan…!" he heard Naruto whisper.

Sasuke glanced back at Sakura again, watching as she struggled to pick herself up. She wobbled unsteadily on her hands and knees, then collapsed again with a grunt. She rolled over and sent healing chakra to her hands, attempting to fix the damage.

"Stay down," Sasuke called to her bluntly. "You can't fight any more."

Sakura threw him an angry look, forcing her legs to quit their bitching and support her weight. Sasuke scoffed at her stubbornness, but Naruto gave a sigh of relief. Sakura popped out a soldier pill and crunched it furiously, glaring at Madara as she continued to heal herself.

Madara unleashed a slew of fire-style ninjutsu with weapons hidden in the flames, at least a dozen one right after another. The three leapt in every direction, avoiding the attacks frantically.

Kisame and Kakuzu had stopped fighting and were watching the four of them battle it out with unreadable expressions. Pein and Konan stood back, allowing Team 7 to take out their fury on Madara, intending to step in if things got out of hand.

Sakura saw an opening and slipped in between the roaring flames of two fire jutsu, kicking off the ground for a burst of speed. Madara, anger blinding him, didn't see it coming until it was too late. She appeared in front of him, fist reared back and a scowl on her face.

"Mother" — she snapped her fist forward and decked him in the face hard enough to break a cheek bone — "Fucker!"

Madara was thrown back at least twenty feet, skidding and tumbling across the ground before he leapt up again, sliding the last few inches on his feet. But just as he lifted his head, Sasuke was bringing down his Chidori-charged kusanagi on him. He flew back a good fifty feet, blood coloring his gritted teeth a pale pink as Naruto suddenly forced a large Rasengan through his back in mid-air. He was flung in the opposite direction and crash landed into the rubble of an already-destroyed building.

Snarling under his breath, he flash-stepped back into the fight with the tip of a katana he grabbed off the ground in less than a second inches from Sasuke's chest. He thrust it forward and the blade bit unforgivingly into black-clad flesh, blood spurting from the wound. It went clean out the other side and a loud gasp flew from Sakura's throat.

But it didn't slice through Sasuke. It went through the arm that flew out to block him.

Itachi's arm.

Swearing darkly, Madara leapt back and Itachi removed the katana from his arm, not so much as grimacing. Sasuke stared in shock as his brother attacked the Uchiha elder in a blur.

It was the second time he'd saved him. But why? Why would Itachi save him? Unless…

"_He doesn't hate you, you know," she murmured. "He still loves you."_

Was it possible? Was his brother…not evil?

Team 7 watched in shock as Itachi used Madara's own katana to slice a long, deep cut across his chest. The elder flashed away furiously and rained weapons down on the other Uchiha, matching his fireball with one of his own. Sakura looked at Naruto until he glanced back at her. When he did, she jerked her head to the side, and he caught her meaning.

"Teme!" Naruto called, snapping Sasuke out of his thoughts. His eyes flickered to the blond, who just smiled. "Go fight with your brother," he murmured. "Kill that old geezer — give 'em a good punch for me."

Sasuke stared at him for a minute, fighting an internal battle. Finally, after a long moment, he gave a curt nod and darted off.

Madara parried Itachi's katana with a kunai, both sets of Sharingan eyes glaring viciously.

"You should really let Sasuke fight his own battles," he taunted. "He doesn't need you to protect him, and he obviously doesn't _want_ you to."

Itachi's eyes narrowed further, but he said nothing, whipping his katana to the side to try and make Madara drop his weapon. They both jumped back a couple of feet, hands darting for kunai with exploding tags. They threw them at each other and the two weapons collided in mid-air, exploding on impact. As the dust cleared, Madara flashed toward Itachi, only to leap back as Sasuke slashed out with his kusanagi.

Itachi glanced briefly at his younger brother, lips twitching slightly, while Madara glared at both of them.

"Sakura!"

The rosette's head shot up at the sound of her name, and she found Tsunade staring straight at her.

"Tend to the wounded!" she called.

Sakura nodded and immediately set to work, dashing over to an unmoving Konoha shinobi. Naruto glanced at the Akatsuki Leader before joining Sakura, acting as he guard against any potential enemy ninja. Ryuzaki felt himself exhale slowly, not realizing he had been holding his breath. A small smile — the kind that would have earned him a creeped-out look from Misa — crept across his lips.

_They might just win this, yet._


	15. Right Up Until the End

Hola, mis amigos. (I felt like speaking a little Spanish. I dunno why, so sue me.) The new chapter has arrived! :D I have a feeling that this story will be ending soon. There'll be a lot more chapters, of course, but I mean I've been writing it pretty fast. So that's good. ^^

My friend** Shadowstep of MoonClan **has this kick-ass AWESOME story that you all need to go read, especially if you like the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. It's called _Up Above The World So High_. This girl, Charykit (ahem, *cough*Sakura*cough*) lives in a world of human/cat hybrids, and is part of the Blazing Fire Clan. But one day, the Clan gets destroyed by the Raging Water Clan, and she's sent 300 years into the future - to a world where only humans (ninja) live. She goes by the name Hanashina Namikawa, and she sees the reincarnations of some of her friends there, too! (Like Foxkit is Naruto and Ravenkit is Sasuke.) It's really cool, guys! You've gotta read it! :D

Please read and review! :)

* * *

To anyone who didn't know the Akatsuki, the fight would seem hopeless for Madara and his followers. Kakuzu was dead, his five masked-creatures destroyed and his last heart ripped apart by Kakashi's Chidori. Kisame had stopped fighting and was watching his former Mizukage battle with uncertain eyes. Zetsu was going full-out, but he wouldn't last much longer against eight Konoha shinobi — Team 8, Team 10, Sai, and Yamato; there was no way he could win. Madara, however was another story.

He was battling both of the Uchiha brothers — Sasuke _and_ Itachi — at once, and both sides were bloody and battered. No one was sure who would come out the victor.

"Konoha shinobi," came a deep voice, sounding as though it was barely concealing rage. The ones battling Zetsu froze, watching as Pein suddenly appeared in front of them, Konan joining him a moment later. "Leave him to me. Tend to your injured comrades so that they may fight another day."

The eight ninja exchanged uneasy glances, not sure what to do. Shikamaru, the born genius of the group, decided for them — he gave a short nod of acknowledgement. The other seven followed suit and split up to help any allies that lay unmoving on the ground. Zetsu grimaced as Pein locked his steely ringed gray eyes on him. He was done for.

Sakura was making good time healing her patients. She had been running dangerously low on chakra after her third healing, but Tsunade tossed her a bottle of chakra pills, and she was off again. The rosette was now on her seventh, about to be eighth, patient.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto suddenly said as she stood to find another injured ninja to heal. She looked up at him, thanking the skies for nearly the thousandth time that he was playing body guard for her while she healed.

"What is it, Naruto?"

He glanced over at the fight between the three Uchiha's, worry clouding his gaze. Sakura followed his line of sight and took in the many injuries that covered Itachi and Sasuke.

"Teme is slowly down," he murmured, fists clenching at his sides. "He's gonna get hit with something big sooner or later; he barely dodged that last fireball. Do you think…?"

Sakura gave a firm nod. "If he'll let me," she agreed.

Naruto smiled in obvious relief, giving her a quick one-armed hug. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."

The blond took off with Sakura on his heels, leaping over a few fallen bodies here and there.

"Teme!" he called, cupping one hand around his mouth and throwing his other arm up in a sloppy wave. "Come over here for a minute!"

Sasuke shot him a glare as he ducked to avoid an onslaught on kunai, turning with the grace only a shinobi could achieve to slash out with his kusanagi. Madara was suddenly behind him, kicking the youngest Uchiha in the back with a Sakura-worthy sidekick. He was thrown forward and slammed into the ruins of a building, gritting his teeth as he whirled around to leap back at the man. Before he could, however, Naruto skidded to a halt in front of him.

"What?" the black-haired man snapped angrily, Sharingan flashing.

"Let Sakura-chan heal you," his almost-brother replied evenly, meeting his gaze without blinking.

"No," Sasuke bit out with a glare, shifting to flash around the blond. "I don't have time."

"It'll only take a minute," Naruto pleaded, adjusting his position to keep between Sasuke and the other two Uchiha's. "Come on, teme. Just real quick. If you're fresh and healed, it'll be easier to take down Madara."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he glowered at both Naruto and Sakura, who stood a few feet away. His gaze flickered back to Madara and Itachi, both of whom were flinging weapons and paper bombs at each other.

"Fine," he growled after a minute, fixing a dark look on Sakura. "Go to my brother after you're done."

Surprise lit up Sakura's features, but she didn't object. A smile pulled at her lips as her hands blazed with bright green chakra. She coaxed Sasuke to crouch down and she did the same, placing her glowing hands up his upper chest.

Maybe everything would work out between the brothers, after all. Sakura had no idea why Itachi killed the Uchiha Clan, but he obviously still loved his younger brother, so perhaps he'd had his reasons for doing it. Madara had helped kill them, too, but she doubted that he had a good excuse as for why.

Sakura closed her eyes and pressed her lips in a hard line, eyebrows furrowing as she concentrated. She let her chakra become her eyes, allowing her to see inside Sasuke's body and assess the damage. Nothing too major, she discovered with relief. Minor burns, a few bruises, severe chakra depletion, some broken ribs, a sprained wrist, and a couple of cuts that could've punctured an organ if they went any deeper.

She focused on the ribs first, sending a tiny burst of chakra to Sasuke's brain to trigger an endorphin rush. She felt him stiffen slightly before relaxing, then set to work on mending the bones. She used her chakra to ease the fragments back into their original places, inserting more between the broken pieces to act as glue. Then, after completely saturating the ribs with her chakra, she regenerated the bonds between them that were never meant to be broken. Once she was satisfied with the work, she moved on to the large cuts that hovered dangerously above his kidneys.

The skin grew back and closed around the wound, the blood and tissue regrowing themselves. She probed his kidneys briefly, relieved to find no damage to them, and quickly mended his sprained wrist. After that, she healed the burns and then withdrew her chakra completely. He would have to put up with the scrapes and bruises for a while, she decided, because they'd heal themselves within a couple of days; they weren't even big enough to make a small child cry.

Sasuke watched quietly as she opened her eyes and fished around in her medical pouch for something, his body tingling slightly from the healing and endorphin rush. She was a good medic, he realized absently. A lot better than he'd thought.

Sakura smiled to herself in victory and pulled out the bottle of bright blue gel-like pills that Tsunade had given her, unscrewing the cap. She pulled out one of the pills and held it up to Sasuke's lips.

"Open up," she ordered, and after a moment, he did so.

She popped the pill into his mouth and instructed him to bite down on it. He swallowed instinctively, but it didn't go down; it dissolved into pure chakra and flooded throughout his body, leaving him feeling renewed. Sakura stood quickly, watching as he did the same, and smiled again.

"Go get 'em, Sasuke," she said. "Don't forget to give him a good punch for Naruto — and one for me, too."

Sasuke gave a short nod, glancing back at the fight before look at her again. Sakura understood what he was thinking.

"Just go," she murmured. "Go after Madara, and I'll heal Itachi — as long as he lets me."

Sasuke grunted and darted off twice as quickly as he had before, slashing out like a viper at Madara with his kusanagi. The elder took an abrupt step back, obviously surprised at his new burst of speed and lack of injuries. He caught Itachi's eye and jerked his head over toward Naruto and Sakura, who were quickly making their way over.

"Stay here, Sakura-chan," Naruto said when they were roughly twenty feet away from the three black-haired man. "I'll go get 'em."

Sakura stayed put, swallowing to wet her rapidly-drying throat as she watched Naruto leap into the fight long enough to catch Itachi's attention. Her chakra was running low again, but she should have enough to heal Sasuke's brother before needing another pill. Medics were advised to take no more than two in a single day, but Sakura — as well as Tsunade, the pair being so incredibly stubborn — had taken up to five. She would be fine. To her surprise, Naruto was running back to her with Itachi a moment later. She honestly hadn't expected the man to accept her medical treatment.

Itachi stood before her with an unreadable gaze, appearing to size her up. Naruto flanked the rosette closely, though she wasn't sure if it was in case he needed to protect her from Itachi or catch her. Either way, she was glad to have him there.

"Only basic medical treatment," Itachi ordered smoothly. "I cannot leave Sasuke to fight Madara for long."

Sakura, who was easily much more stubborn that any Uchiha in the world, shot him a stern look. "Naruto," she murmured, "go help Sasuke."

Annoyance flickered in the man's eyes as the blond hurtled off eagerly to do as he was told. Sakura focused chakra into her hands once more and pressed them against Itachi's chest, eyes closing. Like before, she let her chakra guide her to his injuries. Two fractured ribs, a dislocated-but-then-relocated shoulder, a torn muscle in his leg, a few cuts and bruises, and…

Sakura's eyes flew open and she stared up at him in shock.

"You're _sick_?" she asked in disbelief. Itachi regarded her wordlessly, calm and cool. "Good lord, Uchiha. You're lucky to have survived as long as you have. What the hell were you thinking? You should've gone to see a medic!"

He raised an eyebrow smoothly, and Sakura grimaced. Right. Going into medic-mode meant forgetting exactly who she was healing. Itachi couldn't go to a medic (_Idiot._ Sakura berated herself.) because he was a world-famous S-Class missing-nin. He was to be killed on sight.

"Shut up," she muttered crossly, glaring at his chest before closing her eyes again.

She sent most of her chakra to attack the illness, pouring so much into it that the virus received a nasty chakra burn. She could feel it as if it were a living animal in his body, a coiling snake preparing to strike. It fought back with surprisingly vigor, but Sakura flooded it with chakra — more so than she needed to. As the virus effectively suffocated under the intense saturation of her chakra, she set to work on his injuries. Aside from being sick, Itachi was a lot less banged up than Sasuke, which surprised her. He was a lot stronger than she'd originally thought.

She mended his fractured ribs in no time, relieved that they weren't broken because it meant less energy spent on fixing them. She pushed a little bit of chakra into his shoulder, easing the erratic muscles and veins around it that had been stretched when it went out of place. Thankfully, he had gotten it back in before any big damage could occur. Like with Sasuke, she let his bruises and cuts sit; he could tough it out. After quickly repairing the torn muscle in his leg, she returned her attention to the illness in his lungs.

It was almost entirely gone now. It was still clinging on for dear life, but another burst of chakra killed it on the spot. Sakura was a bit embarrassed about how long it took to purge the virus from him; Tsunade would have been ashamed. A simple infection like that should've taken no more than a minute to get rid off, but she'd spent nearly three.

Grimacing inwardly to herself, Sakura withdrew her chakra from Itachi's body and whipped out her handy dandy bottle of chakra pills. Instead of holding it up for him to open his mouth, she merely handed him a pill and explained what it was. She didn't feel comfortable feeding it to him like she had with Sasuke, because he wasn't her almost-brother. After he bit down on the pill and received a flood of new fresh chakra, she made a shooing motion with her hands.

"Go on," she mumbled. "Go back to the fight. You're done."

Sakura could've sworn she saw amusement glowing in his bloodred eyes, but she didn't have a chance to confirm it before he flashed back to his brother's side. A moment later, Naruto rejoined her, watching as she crunched on another chakra pill. His breathing was ragged and he had a long cut across his cheek — and probably a few others, too — but he looked fine.

"You okay?" she asked, checking him over for any critical injuries.

Naruto grinned, catching his breath. "I should ask you that," he teased. "You're the one doing all the cool healing stuff."

Sakura smiled back, a little relieved when she saw the kyuubi's chakra take effect and coax his cuts to close up.

"Come on," she murmured, tugging his arm. "I've got to get back to treating the wounded."

Sasuke noticed his brother rejoining the fight from the corner of his eye, sparing a quick glance at Naruto. The blond gave him a nod and disappeared — to go back to Sakura, he assumed — and he looked at Itachi. The man was noticeably faster and more healthy-looking, which he found, to his surprise, relieved him.

Sasuke had gained a few more cuts and bruises during Itachi's absence, but it didn't bother him in the least. He and his brother were refreshed from the healing, while Madara was looking a bit worse for the wear.

The older man was growing irritated. He had learned from his past mistake to not let his anger blind him again, but that didn't mean he couldn't let it fuel him. He swore darkly under his breath as Itachi landed a hard blow on his shoulder, furious with himself for depleting his chakra so quickly. After so many years of practice and training, his fire-style ninjutsu required practically no chakra at all; his time-space ninjutsu, however, used up a lot. He didn't have enough to teleport himself or individual parts of his body away anymore, but he had plenty for a slew of fire jutsu. It would have to do for now. He noticed, with a small burst ff annoyance, that Sasuke and Itachi both seemed to have replenished their chakra.

_It's that damn medic._ he thought angrily. _If they keep going back to her whenever they grow weak, this could go on for a long time. Things could get very bad._

And then, Madara made his fatal mistake. He spared a brief second to glare at Sakura from the corner of his eye. Itachi saw his chance and flashed forward, plunging his katana deep into the man's chest.

Madara grunted, blood bubbling to his lips as he grabbed the sword with both hands, intending to rip it out of his body. Before he could, however, a flash of black above him caught his eye. He glanced up, and there was Sasuke, bringing down a Chidori-charged kusanagi with a wickedly determined glare in his Sharingan eyes.

Madara swore under his breath, knowing he couldn't dodge it. He lowered his gaze back to Itachi and glowered at the man with pure unfiltered hatred, watching as a grim sort of satisfaction lit his opponent's eyes.

And then, the kusanagi sliced right through him.

The Chidori shot all throughout his body, electrocuting the man and a long, deep scar opened up across his chest from the blade. Blood splattered the two brothers, but neither of them flinched. Itachi released his grip on the katana and Madara fell, the blade still protruding from his chest. Sasuke tore his kusanagi from the man's body, watching gravely as the thick red liquid poured from him at an alarming rate.

A scream of victory exploded from a ways behind them, signaling that Naruto had been watching. A second voice — Sakura's — joined his just as loudly, and soon every Konoha shinobi was shouting and crying vigorously. Pein pulled a long black pike from Zetsu's motionless body before he glanced over his shoulder emotionlessly to see for himself. Konan looked back and relief instantly flooded her expression. Kisame grimaced, knowing he would be getting an ass-kicking — or head-removing — for this later, while Hidan yelled out a long string of triumphant curses. Deidara grinned widely in the way only an insane man could, and even Sasori gave a small grunt and smirk.

Madara was dead before he even hit the ground.


	16. We All Fall Down

Hello again, everyone! The story's moving faster! :)

My friend** Shadowstep of MoonClan **has this kick-ass AWESOME story that you all need to go read, especially if you like the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. It's called _Up Above The World So High_. This girl, Charykit (ahem, *cough*Sakura*cough*) lives in a world of human/cat hybrids, and is part of the Blazing Fire Clan. But one day, the Clan gets destroyed by the Raging Water Clan, and she's sent 300 years into the future - to a world where only humans (ninja) live. She goes by the name Hanashina Namikawa, and she sees the reincarnations of some of her friends there, too! (Like Foxkit is Naruto and Ravenkit is Sasuke.) It's really cool, guys! You've gotta read it! :D

Please read and review! :)

* * *

"YES!" Naruto screamed, throwing his arms around Sakura and jumping as high as he could.

They both laughed and cheered and leapt for joy until they tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs. The victorious shouts of their fellow Konoha shinobi rang out loudly all around them, marking the end of the scourge known as Uchiha Madara. Sasuke and Itachi were both breathing heavily, minor cuts and bruises covering their bodies; no major wounds, though, thanks to Sakura.

Kisame's grimace deepened. He was screwed. Pein fixed him with a glare that would melt even the toughest shinobi. Yeah. He was seriously screwed.

Naruto laughed as he scrambled to his feet, pulling Sakura after him, and made a beeline for Sasuke. Sakura tugged him back, meeting his confused gaze evenly.

"Give him a little while," she murmured, nodding toward their former teammate.

Naruto followed her gaze and then saw what she meant. Sasuke and Itachi stood a few feet apart, their sides to each other but their eyes locked. This was the moment that would decide the fate of the two brothers, and they needed to work it out for themselves. Naruto slumped slightly in disappointment, but he didn't object.

"Go to Hinata-chan," she advised with a sly smile. "I'll bet she was worried about you."

Naruto brightened like the sun and flew off with a loud: "Thanks, Sakura-chan!" The rosette laughed quietly and shook her head, smiling after him.

_He's one of a kind._ she thought to herself affectionately. _Even after all that, he's still got the energy to run around and scream at the top of his lungs. That's my brother, alright._

Sensing a pair of eyes on her, Sakura turned to find Ryuzaki staring straight at her. She smiled warmly at him, which he returned in a way that suggested he wasn't smiled at often. She shifted to go to him, but Tsunade's call distracted her.

"Sakura!" the woman shouted over the noise of the cheering. Her face-set was stern, but her eyes were gentle with the light of a mother gazing at her child. "Start taking the wounded to the hospital! No one dies today except the enemy; is that clear?"

Sakura straightened up and saluted overzealously, making the woman chuckle. She was really picking up too many habits from Naruto.

"Crystal, ma'am!"

.

.

.

Ryuzaki sat in the waiting room of the Konoha Hospital, glancing around curiously. He took in everything: the painfully-white walls and ceiling, the strong smell of antiseptic, the startling cleanliness of it all, the anxiety crackling in the air like lightning as medics rushed in every direction, the concern glowing in said medics' expression as they tended to injured shinobi and civilians…

It truly was an amazing sight to behold.

These shinobi were so incredibly advanced, and it astonished him to realize how far off he had been in his assumptions of them. They may have been in the proverbial stone-age compared to his world's technology, but their system and organization… It was unbelievable.

And their doctors were actually _nice_. A shocking change from his world.

_Now I understand._ He gave a small, slight smile as he looked around in wonder. _I understand why these shinobi can survive such chaos, constantly surrounded by death and destruction._ Sakura flickered briefly in his mind. _If they can come home to such a loving, caring environment every single day and know that their comrades are willing to risks their lives for them… It's no wonder they can find peace here._

To his further amazement, a nurse rushed up to him with a kind, worried expression.

"Where are you injured?" she asked, looking him over anxiously. "Do you need pain medication? Are you hurting?"

Ryuzaki stared at her openly for a moment, not even bothering to conceal his astonishment. This woman, this impossibly kind medical shinobi — who didn't even _know_ him — was truly concerned about his health. She and her fellow medics were fully dedicated to helping others. They were entirely selfless, giving everything and taking nothing.

"No, I'm alright," he replied after a long minute. "I wasn't injured."

She seemed surprised, but then smiled. "That's good," she remarked in relief. "There are so many wounded coming in — it's painful to see." Then, her face showed confusion. "Are you here to see someone? If you want to visit someone who was hurt, I can probably direct you to their room."

"Actually," Ryuzaki disagreed, pulling his knees closer to his chest, "I was waiting for Sakura-san to finish her work."

Pleasant surprise bloomed across her features, and then she smiled brightly. "That's very sweet of you," she giggled, eyes softening. "Sakura doesn't usually get too many visitors. Her comrades are always away on missions, and when they aren't, they're busy training." She seemed a little sad for a second. "I'm so happy that she's back," the brunette continued softly. "It was terribly lonely around here without her; and I'm glad that she wasn't hurt."

Ryuzaki nodded faintly, eyes drifting off to the space over the nurse's shoulder. He expected Sakura to walk up at any moment, but she was still gone.

"Do you know how long she'll be?"

The nurse laughed, an amused smile staking its claim on her face. "She should be done in an hour or so," she replied, "but knowing Sakura, she'll find some excuse to stay until three in the morning." Ryuzaki frowned, which the woman picked up on immediately. "I can take you to her when she's finished," she offered. "If you convince her not to overexert herself, maybe she'll leave sooner." The woman winked. "She always tires herself out and stays too late. It's about time a sweet young man came by and took interest in her."

Ryuzaki stared up at her blankly, for once not having a clue as to how to reply. Was she implying…? By the gods, she was. She thought he and Sakura were involved in a _relationship_. He continued to look at her as if she had sprouted rabbit ears, mouth know working properly. Hell, his _head_ wasn't working properly. His first reaction to these sort of situations was to carefully explain that nothing of the sort was going on, but it was as if someone had dumped a case of liquid nitrogen on him and frozen him in place.

The nurse giggled again when he didn't — _couldn't_ — deny it, giving him a knowing look. "Oh, _I_ see," she laughed. "Still stuck in the denial stage, hm? Take my advice, sir; just throw caution to the wind and dive in head-first, because it'll happen eventually whether you want it to or not."

She turned and walked away, casting another smile over her shoulder at the dumbstruck detective.

_No_, not dumbstruck. Just…miffed. Confused. Certainly not dumbstruck. Geniuses didn't become dumbstruck. It just didn't happen. Ever.

So instead of confronting the brand new subject presented to him in shock, Ryuzaki skirted around it with a suspiciously-blank face and stared off into space, preparing to sit there in silence for the next hour.

And so he did.

It was surprisingly easy to sit in such an awkward position for over an hour, staring sightlessly at a single point in space without uttering a word. He received a few strange looks throughout the time, but he didn't appear to notice any of them. All too soon, he saw a familiar nurse walking down the hallway toward him with a large smile. (Didn't her face hurt from smiling so much? Surely her facial muscles must be stretched all out of place by now…)

"Having fun?" she teased, placing her hands — one of which was holding a clipboard — on her hips. Ryuzaki merely looked up at her wordlessly, blankly. She shook her head incredulously, her smile twisting further on her lips. "Come on, lover boy," she said, grabbing Ryuzaki's arm and pulling him to his feet.

The man stumbled slightly as he caught his balance, wide dark eyes disbelieving. He allowed the brown-haired woman to drag him down a hall and through a set of double doors clearly marked with "No Civilians Allowed" in red letters, absently replaying her words in his head. She tugged him along through a few more hallways before knocking insistently on a door. A faint "Enter" came from inside, and the nurse did just that. She practically threw the door open, yanking poor Ryuzaki after her, and grinning slyly at Sakura. The rosette stood in front of her desk with her back to the door, sifting through a dozen or so papers.

"Yes?" she called absently, not bothering to look back at them.

"Your shift's over, Sakura," the nurse replied much too cheerfully. "Time to get off work. I've brought your boyfriend."

Sakura paused and frowned, then turned her head to look over her shoulder. "What the hell are you—"

She suddenly froze up and her face turned a shocking shade of red, eyes going wide. Then, abruptly, she whirled back around and fumbled with the papers that were scattered all over her desk. Unintelligible mumbles escaped her as she shuffled awkwardly with the documents, pointedly keeping her back facing the nurse and Ryuzaki.

Ryuzaki pondered her reaction as the nurse left with another wink. What was the cause for the way she acted? Was there something embarrassing about the way he looked? Or maybe the nurse had done something? But, then, what had she done?

After a long hard moment of thinking, Ryuzaki came to a simple conclusion: Sakura was obviously a women, and it was common knowledge that humans of the female gender were unexplainably complex. So it stood to prove that Sakura boggling his mind on a regular basis was a natural occurrence. Women were extremely difficult to figure out, as he had learned, and she was no different. Simple.

Satisfied that he had worked out the reasoning in his head, Ryuzaki slouched forward slightly in his usual standing position, rubbing the bottom of one foot against his other leg. He winced slightly, grimacing to himself as he examined his feet. Oh, yeah. He'd banged them up pretty badly.

Sakura, seeming to have redeemed herself, turned to fix him with a cool look. "Did you have your feet looked at?" she asked, as if reading his mind.

A small ironic smile curled up his lips at the corners as he shook his head, lazily sliding his hands into his jeans pockets. Sakura shook her head as she gave a laugh, smiling back softly.

"Why am I not surprised?"

Sakura pulled out a rolling chair from behind her desk and gestured for Ryuzaki to sit in it, finishing up with her organization of the papers. He took the seat and pulled up his knees as usual, but when Sakura turned to him, she fixed him with a stern look. He met her gaze evenly and after a moment of silence, slowly lowered his feet to the floor. Sakura beamed brightly at him as if to say, "Good boy" and padded up to him, crouching down. The white lab coat she had donned after arriving at the hospital pooled on the floor around her, gathering a little bit of dust and dirt, but she didn't notice.

Sakura flooded chakra to her hands and they blazed bright green, the light casting a faint glow on her face. She was drawing close to the end of her chakra reserves after having downed a third chakra pill a couple hours earlier, but she had plenty to heal the cuts and scrapes on the soles of Ryuzaki's feet. He felt the familiar rush of warmth that tingled his skin, and he couldn't help the look of wonder that overtook his features. Even though he had experienced one of Sakura's healings before, it was still an astonishingly wonderful feeling.

Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated on his injuries, urging the blood and tissues to regenerate themselves. Once everything on the interior had been patched up, she doused the entire bottoms of his feet with her chakra to fight off any infection that might attempt to creep in and then pushed his skin to grow together again. His feet were perfectly mended, the wounds not leaving so much as a pink patch of new skin. Sakura opened her eyes and withdrew her chakra, smiling as she admired her work. Good as new.

"There you go," she said, tilting her head up to smile at him.

Finding his face shockingly close to her own, Sakura lost her balance and fell flat on her back rather ungracefully, eyes wide. Ryuzaki merely stared at her curiously as a fine coating of red dusted her cheeks, marking her obvious embarrassment. He tilted his head to the side slightly, eyes unblinking.

"As I thought," he murmured bluntly, as if drawing a case to a close. Sakura swallowed invisibly, biting the inside of her cheek. "You seem to be exceedingly uncomfortable with physical closeness." Her face heated further, and he tilted his head slightly more to the side. "However, I find it intriguing that such occurrences with Naruto-san and other friends of yours do not appear to bother you. Only around myself, do you find it uncomfortable. Why is that?"

Sakura looked away and quickly climbed to her feet, feeling Ryuzaki's eyes on her as she shed her lab coat and hung it up on the back of her office door. She didn't meet his gaze as she stood in the doorway, waiting for him to follow.

"I've known them for a long time," she replied simply. "I can tolerate being in a close proximity to them because I've been subjected to it countless times."

"I see," Ryuzaki mumbled, walking after her down the hall and out of the hospital. "I suppose, then, that the same would occur if you were to visit my world often to see the task force and myself."

Sakura halted and looked back at Ryuzaki questioningly. "Ryuzaki," she said slowly, "are you asking me to visit?" Something flickered in her gaze. "Are you insinuating that you would be unhappy if I didn't return for a while every now and then?"

He smiled, though he appeared to be very curious. "I suppose I am."

Sakura paused, obviously fighting an inward battle. He waited patiently, wondering what she could be thinking about. Making up her mind, she suddenly met his gaze as though it had taken a lot of strength to do so. She stared at him for a moment, searching his eyes for something. Then, she opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off as a voice called out.

"Sakura!"

The girl turned reluctantly, glancing back at Ryuzaki in a way that said she was frustrated that she hadn't been able to tell him something. He felt a twinge of disappoint, but covered it quickly. This was Sakura's world and she hadn't seen her friends in a while. He had no right to steal her away from everyone when her time was so precious. He watched almost impatiently as Shizune ran up to her, seeming very relieved.

"I'm glad I caught you," she said, breathing heavy. "I've been running all over this hospital, looking for you."

"Sorry, ma'am," Sakura apologized. "If I'd known, I would've come to you sooner."

Shizune waved it off, taking a moment to smile and greet Ryuzaki before returning her attention to Sakura. "Tsunade-sama wants to see you."

"I was actually going out to find her," the rosette admitted. "Since the Hokage tower got destroyed and all, I wasn't sure where she'd be…"

"Yamato-san is working on making a new tower as we speak," Shizune explained with a glimmer of amusement. "He's very efficient with his wood-style ninjutsu." Sakura laughed.

"Yes, I suppose so."

Shizune smiled. "Tsunade-sama is waiting for you by…" She paused, frowning, as if not sure how to word her sentence. "Well, she's waiting where the old Hokage tower used to be. I have no idea if Yamato-san is finished making the new one, yet, or not, but it'll be right on top of the old one."

"Hai. Arigatou, Shizune-nee."

Sakura bowed and Shizune rolled her eyes, giving the younger girl her fiercest "how many times have I told you not to bow to me?" look. With one last smile, Sakura tugged Ryuzaki's sleeve to signal that they were going and walked off, leaving Shizune to her own devices. The detective didn't speak up until they left the hospital.

"You were going to say something earlier," he remarked, blinking at her.

Sakura nodded uneasily, mumbling a faint, "Yep…"

A rather awkward silence descended on the pair.

The kunoichi pointedly refused to look at him, even more annoyed that she hadn't been able to say what she wanted to him earlier when she'd worked up the courage. Instead, she remained quiet, cursing herself for her cowardice. Ryuzaki studied her curiously but didn't ask again, sensing her reluctance to talk.

In the end, all Tsunade wanted was to ask her a few questions regarding her choice to fight alongside the Akatsuki Leader and what happened after she was sucked into the "portal-thingy", as Naruto oh-so-smoothly put it. Ryuzaki had been right in his profiling of Pein; as soon as Madara was dispatched, the man took his body (and the bodies of Kakuzu and Zetsu as well) and disappeared with the rest of the Akatsuki.

Sakura told her shishou everything. She explained what Pein had said to her during their first encounter, and then went on to describe Ryuzaki's world in great detail. Tsunade was amazed to hear about the Kira case and their incredible technological advances, and even more so impressed when she learned that Ryuzaki was from that world. She bombarded him with questions, and he willingly answered each and every one of them. After a very long conversation, Tsunade declared that she liked Ryuzaki and that he was free to stay for a night; then, in the morning, Sakura would lead them to the "portal-thingy" and they would send him home.

As Ryuzaki lay in Sakura's bed that night (she had ordered him to take the bed while she slept on the couch, not taking "no" for an answer) he pondered over his internal reaction to Tsunade's decision. Why had his chest tightened? Why had he automatically glanced over at Sakura? Why had he been slightly disappointed to find her face blank?

Why was he even thinking about this?

He should be relieved to be going back home. He could finally catch Kira and the Second Kira. He could see Watari again and fall back into his old comfortable routine. Everything would be right again.

And yet, everything would be wrong.

He had grown used to having Sakura around. It wouldn't be the same if she wasn't there. The whole reason she'd even come to him in the first place was to try and find a way to get home. And now that she was there, she wouldn't be going back. It was the end. He'd never see her again. What a depressing thought.

Before Ryuzaki even realized it, the sun was rising. Great. He'd gone the whole night without getting a wink of sleep. Again.

He frowned to himself as he got up, peering into the living room to find Sakura already awake. He stared at her for a moment incredulously, then wrote it off as a trick of the light when she smiled at him. She greeted him cheerfully, asking what he wanted for breakfast. Ryuzaki answered absently, not even sure what he'd said. He watched her walk into the kitchen silently, mind going into overtime.

Yes, he finally decided. It was a trick of the light. Nothing more.

Because surely, Sakura hadn't been crying.


	17. Define Normal

I'm sorry for the wait, and I'm sorry it's so short! A virus killed my computer and deleted all of my stories, so I had to rewrite this chapter! Please read and review...

* * *

Naruto stared intently at Itachi. Itachi stared intently at Sasuke. Sasuke stared intently at Ryuzaki. Ryuzaki stared intently at Sakura. Sakura stared intently at the ground. And who did the ground stare intently at? Why, everyone, of course.

And on reigned the silence. The awkward, uncomfortable, quickly growing old silence. Ah, the joys of being surrounded by such warm, talkative companions.

Tsunade, obviously fed up with the entire ordeal, was the first to speak.

"Alright," she snapped irritably, glaring at every person who's eyes she could catch. The Godaime Hokage fixed her steely gaze on Ryuzaki. "Ryukishi," she barked out.

"Ryuzaki."

"We're all glad to have you here, and we're all thankful that you took care of Sakura-chan." She didn't sound very thankful to Ryuzaki. "Right now, we've got some shit to clean up at the village, so we can't play host. Thanks for coming, Ryukishi—"

"Ryuzaki."

"—and have a nice day. Now get in the damn portal-thing already."

Ryuzaki glanced at Sakura again. Her eyes practically burned holes into the ground. He opened his mouth to say something, but all of a sudden, he felt an ominous presence behind him...

Naruto, growing tired of staring pointlessly at Itachi, switched his attention to Sasuke. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why the youngest Uchiha was glaring black flames of death into Ryuzaki's back.

Ryuzaki shuddered slightly. He shot Sakura one last look, silently willing her to meet his eyes. When she didn't, he felt strangely disappointed. He merely blinked, his usual blank — almost creepy — expression intact.

"Very well, then," the detective finally mumbled, shuffling over to the "portal-thingy" (as dubbed by Naruto). "It was a rather intriguing experience to visit your world. I should hope to return someday and thoroughly examine your technology, however I believe that will be impossible."

Sasuke snorted, earning a glare from Tsunade.

Naruto grinned at Ryuzaki, shaking his hand enthusiastically. "Nice meeting ya," the blond remarked brightly. "Good luck with that Karma case-thing."

"It's..." Ryuzaki trailed off, shaking his head slightly.

It was no use correcting Naruto, as he had learned in the past couple of hours. The boy was an idiot. A kind idiot, but an idiot nonetheless.

Naruto stepped back, giving Ryuzaki some space. The dark-haired man cast a faint wave to the small group of shinobi gathered before him, then turned and allowed himself to be pulled into the portal — activated with chakra, courtesy of Sasuke. Said former missing-nin glowered at the detective until the very last hair of his head disappeared into thin air. Sasuke grunted and uncrossed his arms, shoving his hands into his pockets. His gaze immediately went to Sakura.

Itachi eyed his younger brother from his peripheral vision with silent amusement. That boy was a walking time-bomb, and his fuse was dangerously short. Ryuzaki had left just in time; the man had no idea how very close he had been to striking the match that would light Sasuke's fuse.

Sasuke was a brat — a _greedy_ brat, Itachi mused. Only Sasuke could shift from one emotion to an entirely different one in a heartbeat with such grace. To go from the 'hating Sakura's guts' mode to the 'watching Sakura's every move' mode took skill.

Sasuke thought that no one noticed. He thought that no one realized exactly what was going on. Too bad he forgot to include Itachi's superior intellect.

It amused Itachi to no end how incredibly greedy Sasuke was. Only around Ryuzaki had Sasuke snapped at Sakura like she was the dirt beneath his feet. But now that Ryuzaki was gone, Sasuke was suddenly staring at Sakura as if he would never see her again.

_Honestly._ Itachi thought with an inward chuckle. _He'd be better off snatching the girl away and proclaiming 'Mine' as though he were an eight-year-old toddler._

And also, Itachi added, jealously did not complement Sasuke well at all. Very amusing, indeed.

Sasuke watched Sakura's expression with growing irritation as she stared at the place where Ryuzaki had disappeared. He knew that look — it was the same one she'd given him the night he'd abandoned the village. Unconsciously, his eyes narrowed.

Who was that civilian 'detective' to try and take what was his? Who was he to try and whoo Sakura? She was _his._ Not Ryuzaki's. _His_. She had proclaimed her love for him the night he left the village, and he'd held her to her word every damnable day of his absence. She loved him, _not_ Ryuzaki. She'd said so, herself.

Ergo, she belonged to him. Simple.

To Sakura, however, it wasn't that simple. As far as she was concerned, nothing would ever be simple in her life again.

She'd hadn't met Ryuzaki's gaze when he cast look after look in her direction. She hadn't said what she'd been trying to say for the past day-and-a-half. But now, it didn't matter. Ryuzaki was gone, and he was never coming back. Sure, if he tried hard enough, he'd be able to get back through the portal and visit whenever he liked. He could see Sakura every day for the rest of their lives.

But he wasn't going to. He wasn't coming back, and Sakura knew it. He wasn't coming back, because he hadn't looked back at her before stepping through the portal. He hadn't given her one last glance that said he didn't want to leave.

Sakura knew because she had lifted her head and watched him the entire time.

o o o O O O o o o

Ryuzaki awoke at the ass-crack of dawn as usual. He had slept for a grand total of — wait for it — _thirty-two minutes_. It was practically a new record. He should receive a Nobel Prize for that.

He sat up unblinkingly, his hair as wild and messy as always. Without so much as yawning or stretching, the young detective climbed out of bed — wearing his usual attire, mind you — and walked out of the room. For anyone else, this would be a strange morning, but to Ryuzaki, it was perfectly normal. He ascended the stairs to main room that he and the task force worked in, claiming his usual spot in his usual computer chair.

Oh, how he had missed his chair.

It took only eight or so minutes for Watari to poke his head in and ask what sickeningly-sweet treats his charge desired. Ryuzaki rattled off a list of sugar-packed candies and desserts that would cripple any ordinary man, all without blinking. Watari simply gave a, "Very good, Sir" and turned to go dig up the sweets.

Instead of nodding and settling to stare off into space as he usually did, Ryuzaki asked a question and made a request. To him, both the question and the request seemed perfectly logical. Watari, however, was thrown for a loop.

"Sakura-san isn't up yet? Strange. Check in on her, please, Watari."

Watari paused at the doorway, staring at Ryuzaki for a long moment, unsure of what to do. The young man looked up when he realized that his companion had not yet left.

"Is there something wrong, Watari?"

Watari took a minute to compose his words carefully. "Ah...Sakura-san, Sir?"

Ryuzaki gazed at him blankly. Had he said something wrong? Had he not spoken clearly?

And then it clicked.

Ryuzaki merely regarded Watari with his usual unreadable expression. "Scratch that, Watari," he amended calmly. "I must still be half-asleep."

Watari, however, knew for a fact that Ryuzaki was entirely awake. Ryuzaki was aware of it as well, and he knew it. Instead of bringing that up, Watari simply nodded and walked out of the room.

Ryuzaki then proceeded to stare sightlessly into space for the next half-hour.

.

.

.

The entire task force — save for Aizawa, who had left, and Ryuzaki of course — was getting dangerously riled up by what was playing on the monitors. Cameras had been installed in the Yotsuba Group's meeting room, and the business men were blatantly discussing who they should get Kira to kill next.

"Kira...," Light ground out angrily. "Deaths by accident... Deaths by disease... The time of deaths... It's just as we assumed; there's no doubt!"

"No," Ryuzaki disagreed bluntly. "Unfortunately we cannot say there is no doubt until the people mentioned die."

That obviously didn't sit well with Light and his father.

Ryuzaki continued speaking as he dipped his spoon into his bowl of ice cream, twirling it around. "What these seven say at this meeting and their actions until the people mentioned are killed... If we examine those closely, we'll definitely catch Kira."

"R-Ryuzaki!" the two choked out furiously.

"What is it? The two of you in unison..."

"I can't go along with your thinking!" Light yelled. "It's wrong!"

"Yes!" Soichiro agreed with just as much venom.

Ryuzaki cast both of them a withering look as he popped the spoon into his mouth. _Here it comes..._

Cue Light. "You seem to be planning on capturing Kira by letting these seven continue to kill, but we can't do that!"

_I knew it..._

Cue Soichiro. "Yeah, these seven are clearly doing the killing. You should be able to prove it with Matsuda's testimony and this tape. Having them kill to strengthen the case is out of the question!"

Ryuzaki gazed dryly at his nearly-empty ice cream bowl. "I haven't said anything about having them kill, yet..."

Honestly, could these people not function properly without him? Where were their brains going? Ryuzaki gave a small sigh before explaining what he had meant. Being a genius was hard work. He should be getting paid for this shit.

.

.

.

A day passed. Another day passed. A few more days passed.

It took an entire week for Ryuzaki to wake up without expecting Sakura to be walking around the building somewhere. It took two weeks for Ryuzaki to stop thinking about her. It took nearly three for Ryuzaki to forget about her completely.

Or so he told himself.

Misa, while admittedly an utter idiot, had immediately picked up Ryuzaki's unconscious 'don't say a word about Sakura-san' vibes. Matsuda had made the mistake of inquiring about the kunoichi. Ryuzaki had simply stared at him for at least three minutes straight, thoroughly frightening the young task force member. So, to avoid another encounter such as that, Misa ordered them all not to make any reference whatsoever to Sakura.

It worked. For a while, at least.

Today, however, Ryuzaki thought nothing of Sakura. His mind was completely preoccupied with the prospect of finally catching Kira. He had him. It was so close, he could feel it.

"Stay back!" Higuchi of the Yotsuba Group screamed from inside his wrecked car, holding a gun to his head. "Everyone, stay back!"

"This is bad," Light remarked in the helicopter above the scene.

"So stupid," Ryuzaki agreed quietly at his side.

Higuchi's finger tightened on the trigger of the gun, but just before he could pull it, Watari shot the gun from his hand with a sniper rifle.

"It's over..." Light's expression was grim.

"Yes... Yes it is..."

Higuchi gripped his wounded hand tightly, gritting his teeth. He wore the mask of an obvious psychopath.

"Ryuzaki, allow me to go," Soichiro murmured through the communicator.

"Chief!" Mogi added when Ryuzaki remained silent. "I'll go, too."

"Alright," Ryuzaki finally replied. "But Yagami-san, Mogi-san, this is Kira. Make sure he doesn't see your face, no matter what." He turned slightly away from the microphone. "Watari, if Higuchi makes even the slightest move...you know what to do."

"Yes," The old man agreed, sniper rifle aimed and ready. "Stop him without killing him."

Soichiro and Mogi both climbed out of their cars carefully, donning black helmets that covered every inch of their faces. Ryuzaki watched intently from the helicopter as they walked forward slowly, pausing to exchange brief words with — well, what do you know? Aizawa was there, too.

"Higuchi, raise your hands and exit the vehicle." The man remained unmoving for a long moment before doing as ordered. Officers gathered around with guns pointed at him, Soichiro holding a pair of handcuffs. "Keep your back to us."

In no time at all, Higuchi was handcuffed and blindfolded. Light ordered Mogi to put a headset on the criminal.

"Higuchi," Ryuzaki murmured, "how have you been killing? I'm asking how you've killed people as Kira! Spill it!" Higuchi was silent. "If you won't talk, I'll do whatever it takes to make you."

Finally, Higuchi broke down. "The notebook..."

"Notebook?"

"You probably won't believe it, but there's a notebook that kills whoever's name you write in it, if you know what they look like..."

_Notebook..._ Ryuzaki thought quietly, carefully.

"It's in my bag in the car!"

"Y-Yagami-san..." Ryuzaki couldn't keep the stammer out of his voice. This was it. This was the moment when it would all come to light. "Please check to see if such a thing is in the car..."

"All right."

Soichiro approached the car cautiously and opened the door, eyes zeroing in immediately on a black notebook peeking out from a messenger bag.

"Is this it...?" he asked himself as he carefully picked up the notebook. "Ryuzaki, I found the notebook, but I don't see anything odd about it... There are names written in here, but..."

All of a sudden, the former police chief yelled out in absolute horror, falling back onto the ground. He scrambled back a couple of feet, eyes wide and terrified.

"What is it, Yagami-san?" Ryuzaki demanded.

"M-monster..." Light's father started shrieking again and fumbled desperately for his gun.

"Yagami-san, please calm down." Ryuzaki wasn't sure how he kept his voice so level. His heart was racing a mile a minute with anticipation. "You are not armed at the moment."

"Relax, Chief," Mogi coaxed, kneeling down beside him.

"Mogi...," the man whispered, pointing a shaking hand. "Can you see it...?"

"You must be tired, Chief," Mogi replied soothingly as he picked up the notebook from off the ground. He slowly looked up to where the older man was pointing. "But we've caught Higuchi now, so..."

And then he, too, started screaming.

Ryuzaki only faintly heard Light grilling the two men for details and Soichiro saying that only those who touched the notebook could see.

_Monster... Notebook... A Shinigami...?_ "Please bring the notebook to the helicopter..."

Ryuzaki didn't hear one of the officers ordering Mogi to bring him the notebook. He didn't hear Mogi's stammered words as he handed it over. The detective took the notebook slowly, carefully, and then turned to look...

He saw it.

His mind went blissfully silent for a long moment.

"A Shinigami... So they really exist..."

Suddenly, his mind was exploding with thoughts. Theories and conclusions bounced all about like a train wreck. Somehow, in the middle of all the chaos, a clear thought formed.

_At least two notebooks exist... Two... This isn't_ _over yet..._

And then, Light was suddenly holding the notebook and screaming bloody murder.

"Are you okay...?" Ryuzaki asked quietly. "Anyone would be surprised by a monster like that..."

Light was silent for a long time. His eyes were hidden in the shadows cast by his hair. "Writing someone's name in this kills them...? Can you believe that?"

"Huh? It's hard to believe, but..." Ryuzaki turned to look out the window at Soichiro. "We can't exactly test it...right...? Right, Yagami-san...?"

"Of course not, Ryuzaki!"

The next two minutes passed incredibly quickly. Ryuzaki didn't remember speaking, but he distantly heard Light saying that he was going to check the names and compare them to the deceased.

"Ryuzaki, it's only a page so far, but the victims and names written here match up... Should I check the whole thing?"

"Yes."

Ryuzaki absently noticed Light fiddling with his watch. He exchanged a few quiet words with the younger man, thinking to himself that Light wouldn't be so stupid as to try something right in front of him.

Approximately forty seconds later, he was proven wrong, even though he didn't know it.

Higuchi collapsed and died of a heart attack.


	18. Picking Up the Pieces

Hajimemashite and konnichiwa, minna-san!

Again, I'm very sorry about how long it took for the last chapter to be posted. My laptop currently hates me, so I'm stuck on my dad's computer until further notice. Thank you, everyone, for your reviews! I'm very glad that you all haven't given up on me and my story! Gomenasai!

Just a little heads up, my pretties:

This story will be ending soon. I'm not exactly sure how many chapters are left, but just know that it's days are numbered. It makes me sad to think of ending it, but I'm also very proud of myself. TTwTT I don't think that there will be a sequal, but if there is, it'll probably only be a one- (or two-) shot.

Please read and review! :)

P.S. In this chapter, there is something mentioned about a 'silent agreement'. You'll know it when you see it, but I won't say it because it'd spoil the chapter. Anyways, it'll be explained in the next chapter.

* * *

Light and Ryuzaki both sat at computers, lost in the electronic world. Mogi sat at a paper-strewn table behind them, typing away on his laptop. Soichiro, Matsuda, and Aizawa all stood around the table, the latter speaking on the phone and the former two conversing loudly.

The Shinigami stood in the room with them, silently watching the events unfold.

"Well, Higuchi could have committed suicide...," Soichiro muttered. "He had the power to kill. It's not impossible that he could kill himself."

"But he killed by writing people's names down in the notebook," Matsuda argued. "So wouldn't he have to write his own name down? If he could kill himself like that," — Matsuda shaped his hand into a gun and held it to his temple — "why did he point the gun to his head earlier?"

"Well, maybe he figured it would be less painful than dying by a heart attack...?" Soichiro sighed, appearing much older than he actually was. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. "A coincidental heart attack...suicide...another Kira...a Shinigami..." He whipped around to glare at the Shinigami in the room. "Which is it, Shinigami?"

"My name is Rem," it replied monotonously.

Its large yellow eyes — or, rather, lone visible eye — remained unblinking in a Ryuzaki-like fashion. The thing was at least seven feet tall and resembled a skeleton with impossibly-long arms. Bandages covered its forehead and right eye, and purple markings colored it's bone-white face. It had a flat serpent-like nose and short pale hair that faded to purple at the ends. Vampire-like teeth — or maybe fangs? — peeked out from its mouth when it spoke.

"I didn't kill Higuchi, and I don't know why he died."

_Higuchi..._ Ryuzaki pondered, absently raising another tiny container of coffee creamer to his mouth. _Killed by Kira...? Was it Light Yagami...? The Shinigami...? Well, Higuchi is dead now... What I can do now is... Notebook... That would mean..._

His thoughts were arranged in an organized chaos. If he had spoken the words aloud, not a single person in the room would understand, but they made perfect sense to Ryuzaki himself. In fact, the jumbled thoughts probably wouldn't even make a bit of sense to Sa—

No. Bad mind. No thinking about Sa— _'her'_. Too big of a distraction. He needed to concentrate now, and thinking about _'her'_ was not helping.

Yes. Misa ordering everyone to stop referring to _'her'_ was _obviously_ working.

_The video the Second Kira sent to Sa_—_ the tv station... 'We can confirm each other when we meet by showing our Shinigami.' Plus... ''Meet at Aoyama and show each other our notebooks.' This was clearly sent by Amane... And Light Yagami was the only person being investigated by Raye Penber who went to Aoyama... Amane acknowledges that she saw him there and fell in love... Everything adds up until now... But if you believe the notebook...was Amane being used? Is it all just a coincidence...?_

Aizawa suddenly hung up the phone.

"Ryuzaki, Light," he announced, "the notebook and the ink used to write the instructions are made up of substances and materials that do not exist on Earth."

Judging by his words, Ryuzaki concluded that Aizawa had been speaking to someone who examined a piece of the notebook.

"I see!" Soichiro exclaimed, whipping around the Shinigami again. "So as Rem said, the notebook—"

"WHOA. What the fuck is _that_?"

They all froze. Rem turned and looked sharply at the person standing in the doorway. How had the person seen Rem without touching the notebook?

Ryuzaki remained very still in front of his computer, appearing not to even be breathing. Could it be...was it...possible...? Silence reigned on in the room for a long moment. The task force members stared at the newcomer in utter disbelief. Light turned and looked, his eyes suddenly narrowing.

Ryuzaki's eyes were wider than usual as he gazed intently at the computer screen. His back was rigid. His arms were heavier than lead. Finally, he turned.

Sakura smiled gently at him from across the room.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, in Konoha...

Tsunade sat silently in her newly-constructing office — courtesy of Yamato — and sipped her tea.

Not sake.

Tea.

It was a monumental moment in the history of Konoha.

All of a sudden, the door flew open with a nearly explosion-like sound. One _very_ pissed-off Uchiha Sasuke stormed into the room.

"Where is she?" he demanded furiously.

Tsunade regarded him calmly, one eyebrow lifting smoothly. "Who?"

Sasuke glared deathly black flames of doom at the Godaime Hokage. "You know damn-well who I mean!"

The blond-haired woman merely sipped her tea.

"Oh, my apprentice?"

"_Yes."_ His reply was practically a hiss.

Tsunade beamed brightly, the picture of innocence.

"Don't you worry about her," she chirped. "She's only away on a mission."

Sasuke gave her an 'I'm-mentally-stabbing-you-to-death-and-stomping-on-your-remains' look. _"Where?"_

"Oh, you know; somewhere out there. Who's to say?"

Sasuke slammed his hands on her desk, making a large crack in it. Granted, not nearly as large of a crack as she or Sakura would have made, but still impressive nonetheless.

"Tell me," Sasuke growled lowly. His eyes flashed blood-red, the Sharingan threatening to take form. "She went back _there_, didn't she?"

Tsunade simply shrugged — and then smiled at him through half-lidded eyes. He didn't like that look on her face. It was...creepy. She looked as though she were inwardly laughing at a funeral or some other macabre event.

"Who's to say?" she repeated in a, to be perfectly honest, _terrifying_ voice. "Why don't you go there and find out?"

Sasuke glowered at her and turned on his heel, leaving the room like a raging storm. Despite her obvious underlying threat, Sasuke was going to do it. He was going to go through that damn portal and drag Sakura's stupid ass back home.

Too bad, Tsunade mused with wicked amusement as she sipped her tea, that someone had 'accidentally' closed up the portal.

.

.

.

Now, rejoining our favorite group of hopeless idiots...

"...Sakura-san?"

Sakura's smile grew. She bowed.

"Konbanwa, Ryuzaki," she replied, eyes flickering with thousands of emotions at once. "You know, as nice as it is to see you again, I've got to ask." She abruptly pointed at Rem and repeated her former question with just as much grace. "What the fuck is that thing?"

Rem eyed her distastefully, and Matsuda flat-out started laughing. He walked up to her and surprised her with a hug, grinning.

"Glad to have you back, Sakura," he said.

Sakura smiled at him. "Glad to _be_ back, Matsuda."

.

.

.

A small, relief-filled reunion took place for about five or so minutes before Ryuzaki finally answered Sakura's question. None of them asked why she was back, and she didn't tell them. It was a silent agreement. They filled her in on the situation, eager for a fresh set of eyes to look over their work. Rem was grilled thoroughly with question after question.

"Rem-san, the line 'you don't have the eyes' was in the video the Second Kira sent to the tv station," Ryuzaki murmured. "These eyes are eyes that allow you to see a person's name when you see their face, correct?"

Sakura noticed with interest that his words sparked sharp attention from the Shinigami. Light's expression was unreadable.

"What is it, Rem-san?" the dark-haired detective asked quietly. "You can't tell human about it?"

"Ryuzaki, that has to be the case," Light agreed. All eyes were on him now. "They have to be eyes that allow you to see people's names after making a trade with the Shinigami. That can be easily deduced based on the Second Kira's comments and the incident with the cop during Higuchi's drive towards Sakura TV."

"Easily...?" Matsuda objected weakly. "Well, not for me..."

Sakura frowned slightly, her eyes narrowing. Light's sudden 'epiphany' seemed a bit too quick to her.

"You two are mighty clever," Rem acknowledged dryly. "It's something I should only reveal to the user of the notebook, but since you've figured it out, I won't deny anything."

"Then what's this 'trade'?" Ryuzaki countered.

"Now that's something I can only tell the human who uses the notebook."

"It must be something big," Sakura suddenly spoke up, watching Rem's every move. They all looked at her, silently waiting for her to continue. Sakura noticed every detail — she profiled Rem with the sharp eyes of a shinobi, missing nothing. "To trade for eyes that have that much power, the payment must be steep."

Rem was very still.

"So what is it that you get out of the trade? Certainly not money or any other petty human toys. What value could they have to you? You're a god of death, after all." Her eyes narrowed further as a thought came to her. "You're a god of death," she repeated smoothly, "so what could you want more than human death?"

Rem's jaw twitched ever-so-slightly, a movement invisible to the non-shinobi eye. Only someone of academy student level or lower could miss it.

"It's a bit more complicated than that, though, isn't it?" Sakura inquired. "Of course, giving a human the eyes gives them the power to kill as many people as they want. But it can't be that simple."

Sakura allowed herself to glance down at the rules displayed in the open notebook.

"I _would_ say," she murmured quietly, "that the price for the eye-trade is giving one's soul to the Shinigami after death, but the rules state clearly: 'The human who uses this note can neither go to Heaven nor Hell'."

Her eyes traveled back up to the Shinigami.

"And surely," she continued, "the trade cannot _only_ benefit the human. So this is what I think: in exchange for the eyes, the human will die more quickly."

It was hard to tell, but Rem looked either angry or anxious. Ryuzaki's eyebrows raised.

"I see," he agreed, eyes unblinking. "A shorter life span. A god of death could only want death from a human, so the human's death comes more quickly."

His thoughts turned to Misa. He was almost positive that she was the Second Kira. If that was so, then she had the eyes, and her life span was almost certainly shorter. Then, a sudden thought struck him.

The day that he had visited Light's university, Misa had showed up and seen him.

That meant that she knew his name.

_But Amane_ _doesn't have the notebook right now._ he reminded himself. _And I have to assume that she's lost her memories of when she did... No..._ He glanced down at the notebook, eyes drinking in one of the rules. _If Amane had used the notebook, she would be dead for not writing in additional names within 13 days..._ He inwardly grimaced. _Was I mistaken...? Was it all the work of a Shinigami...?_ His eyes slid over to Rem. _No... It can't be... There must be some trick..._

Ryuzaki lifted his head.

"What about a human losing the notebook and then losing their memory of doing so?"

To Sakura's confusion, both Rem _and_ Light looked shocked by Ryuzaki's question. Then, something happened. Something big.

Rem glanced at Light before answering.

"Who knows..? That doesn't happen to Shinigami and I'm not a human, so I don't know how it affects you."

Sakura stared rigidly at Rem, a little voice in her mind whispering something impossible. A memory of a day from seemingly years ago displayed itself broadly.

.

"_..."_

_Sakura and L sat alone in the main room of the task force, a laptop sitting before them on a coffee table covered in papers. On the screen of the laptop was a paused video clip with the word __**KIRA**__ displayed boldly in Gothic format. They were both silent, Sakura's eyes hidden behind a shadow cast by her hair. Her mind swirled in every direction, asking questions and generating its own answers. A large manila folder lay open in the center of the table, all of its contents scattered. Ryuzaki's dark eyes studied the pink-haired girl he sat just inches away from on the couch._

"_...what's your interpretation?"_

_Sakura was silent for a very long time as she gathered her thoughts and every piece of information she had just taken in. She swallowed slightly to wet her rapidly-drying throat before she spoke._

"_...after seeing all of this and listening to everything you've told me, I've come to a conclusion." She gazed up at him seriously. "I can't prove it with solid evidence, but I'm almost certain. Light-san is Kira and Misa-san is the Second Kira."_

.

She had forgotten about that.

And now, it suddenly didn't seem so impossible. In fact, it seemed painfully possible...

"Sakura-san?"

Sakura's head shot up. Everyone was watching her. She smiled slightly at Ryuzaki.

"Sorry," she said calmly, appearing perfectly at ease. "Just got lost in my thoughts."

Ryuzaki nodded absently, studying her closely for a moment before resuming his questions to Rem. Neither Light nor Sakura were paying attention. The kunoichi was again lost in thoughts, while the former was eyeing her carefully, suspiciously.

Of course she didn't know, Light told himself. He was just being paranoid. There was no way she had figured it out with so little to go on.

Unbeknownst to him, however, Sakura had more to go on than he thought.


	19. Mutual Interest

Welcome, my awesomesauce readers, to the next chapter. :) I hope you all enjoy it, and again — I apologize for how long it took to get the last two chapters out.

Please read and review!

* * *

Sakura slept blissfully that night — actually slept. She didn't lie in the bed provided for her in the spare bedroom and stare at the ceiling for hours as she usually would have. She slept long and deep, and it was the most amazing thing she'd experienced in a long time.

And even better, when she awoke and descended the stairs to the main task force room, Ryuzaki was already up. Poised in a computer chair. Watching the doorway. Waiting for her.

Sakura smiled broadly and walked over, sitting with her legs crossed on the floor in front of him rather than claiming a seat. He peered down at her with his usual non-blinking stare.

"You've surprised me, Sakura-san," he said quietly. "I didn't think you would come back."

Sakura's smile looked a bit sad to him.

"Yeah," she murmured, almost too softly for him to hear. "Neither did I."

"Why did you?" the detective asked after a long moment.

Her eyes shifted away and she turned her head to the side, staring sightlessly at the far wall. It took a while for her to answer, even longer than it had for Ryuzaki to ask the question.

"...I don't know."

"I believe you're lying."

Sakura's eyes shot wide and her gaze flew back to the man before her. He was studying her curiously, though not accusingly.

"W-what?" she stammered.

He merely watched her with his trademark blank expression.

"I think you're lying," he repeated. "Obviously, I don't know for sure, but I believe I'm beginning to grow accustomed to when you lie and when you don't."

Sakura was caught wordless for a minute.

"How — What do you mean?" she finally inquired incredulously. "I'm not lying. I'm telling the truth. I don't know why I came back."

A slight smile — the one that scared Misa — crept across his face.

"No, I can see it. You _are_ lying."

Sakura swore up a storm in her mind. Damn geniuses.

"Fine," she grumbled, glaring at the wall. "Maybe I am. So what? That doesn't change the fact that I returned."

Ryuzaki studied her intently, his smile seeming to grow just slightly wider.

"True enough." It was at least ten minutes later than he broke the silence and asked another question. "How long are you staying?"

Even Ryuzaki's untrained non-shinobi eyes picked up on the way she stiffened.

"...a while," she finally admitted.

Ryuzaki had the strangest look on his face. It took a while for him to ask his next question.

"...you're not going back, are you?"

The silence stretched on for an eternity.

"...no."

Curiously, throughout the entire exchange, Watari never poked his head in to inquire as to what they wanted to eat.

.

.

.

Ever since that morning, Ryuzaki and Sakura hadn't spoken a word to one another. It was many hours later that the task force finally arrived, and a couple hours after that Misa showed up to visit Light.

The previous day, she had been released from captivity at the task force's headquarters seeing as they had nothing to hold her on, no matter how adamantly Ryuzaki believed that she was the Second Kira. Light was currently downstairs talking to her in the 'lobby,' for lack of better words. Sakura hadn't told Ryuzaki anything of her suspicions. How could she? She had no solid proof, and the 13 day rule in the Death Note clearly displayed that neither Light nor Misa could have been the Kiras.

_Unless the rule was fake._ a tiny voice whispered in her mind.

It was plausible, she thought to herself absently. Rem had looked at Light before replying to Ryuzaki's last question the day before, almost as if confirming that it had the right to answer. If that was the case, then Light had leverage over the Shinigami. Which also meant that it apparently had to follow his rules — at least for a while.

It was definitely possible when she worked it out in her mind. The only problem was that even if Ryuzaki believed her, the others certainly wouldn't. And there was no way to test the Death Note and prove the rule fake (according to Soichiro, that is; she would have gladly done it herself if she had been allowed to).

Matsuda, Aizawa, Soichiro, and Mogi all stood downstairs with Light and Misa, preparing to board an elevator. Ryuzaki and Sakura watched silently from a camera linked to the computer screen. Matsuda appeared to be crying.

"_So we finally have to say goodbye to Misa Misa...,"_ he mumbled forlornly, rubbing his forearm against his face to wipe away any tears.

"_She'll be on tv,"_ Aizawa pointed out flatly. _"Plus you'll see her through Light. Don't be so sad, Matsuda."_

"_Why didn't Ryuzaki come down?"_ Soichiro asked no one in particular.

Sakura, however, knew the answer to that. If Misa somehow was the Second Kira, then that meant she had the 'eyes'. If she had the eyes, she would be able to see Ryuzaki's name.

"_Light!'_ Misa cried, practically tackling him in a hug. _"You'll really come to see me?_

"_Hey, Matsuda,"_ Aizawa remarked, snatching said man by the shoulder. _"Give them some privacy."_

A minute or so later, the four task force members entered the room. Aizawa stalked over and abruptly shut down the video feed. Ryuzaki glanced up at him while Sakura glared.

"Ryuzaki," he grunted, "I thought you agreed not to monitor them anymore."

He seemed vaguely disappointed. "You're right..."

Sakura frowned after the bushy-haired man as he walked away. The other three members — excluding Light and Misa, who were both still downstairs — followed him and sat on the couches on either side of the coffee table behind Ryuzaki and the kunoichi. They sifted through the countless papers strewn across the table, bouncing ideas off of one another. Sakura, standing beside the dark-haired detective, glanced down at him. She leaned over and placed both of her hands on the computer desk, inconspicuously lowering her head beside his. Neither looked at one another.

"Just because you promised to stop monitoring them," she murmured, much too low for the other to hears, "doesn't mean that you have to."

The man continued to stare at the computer screen, acting as if he had heard nothing.

"I was planning on it."

Sakura allowed herself a brief smile. "Good. Because even if you said no, I was going to do it myself."

His eyes flickered to her and then back to the screen. "You still don't trust them? Even after the evidence we've seen to prove their innocence?"

Sakura knew he felt the same. "Of course not."

He was silent for a long time, his right thumb nail poised at his lips in mid-nibble.

"I want to hear your theories."

She paused. Then threw caution to the wind. "Sure thing, Ryuzaki. As soon as they're all gone."

He gave a very short, almost invisible nod.

"Call me 'L'."

Sakura glanced down at him in surprise. He continued to look straight at the computer screen, almost as if she wasn't there. She delivered a brief nod in return, not questioning him.

.

.

.

Ryuzaki and Sakura's chance to talk came about an hour later, when the other members of the task force — Light included — went out to lunch. The Shinigami Rem was being held in a separate room until the other returned. Sure, Rem could phase through the walls, but why? It wasn't like the Shinigami had anything better to do. They had about half an hour by Sakura's estimations, but it should be plenty of time.

Ryuzaki looked at Sakura expectantly, obviously waiting to hear her theory. The rosette sighed inwardly. She had been hoping that he'd forget, but she should have known: The great detective L forgets nothing.

"I have a question first," he stated clearly. Sakura nodded, slightly relived to put it off for just a moment. "You saw Rem yesterday. When did you touch the notebook?"

She blinked. "I...I didn't."

That seemed to spark his interest. "We could only see the Shinigami after we had touched the notebook."

Sakura frowned. "Maybe it's because I'm from a different world?"

"Perhaps." Satisfied, he gestured faintly with his fingers for her to begin.

"Alright," she mumbled, seated in the computer chair on the man's right. She swivelled the chair around to face him and rested her elbow on the computer desk, messaging her temples. "Just...just bear with me, okay?"

Ryuzaki gave no indication of acknowledgment, but his silence indicated that he'd wait patiently for as long as she needed. He watched her calmly, seated in his usual position.

"This is...this is going to sound a bit far-fetched," she began slightly unevenly. "I don't expect you to believe me because I don't have any evidence to back it up. But there are little things that keep adding up and raising my suspicion higher, and then there's this one occurrence that basically sealed the deal for me." He looked deeply interested. "I can't...I can't prove it, but if given the right chances, I may be able to."

Ryuzaki gave a small nod. He understood that the 'right chances' she was referring to were most likely illegal and would not be approved of by the other members of the task force. Sakura paused to take a breath, steadying herself.

"Light-san in Kira, and Misa-san is the Second Kira."

No reaction. Sakura took that as a sign of encouragement and dove in head-first.

"You remember, um...a while back, when it was — ah, the day we met. That night, you showed me everything you had learned up to that point regarding the Kira case."

He nodded slightly to show that he remembered.

"With all the evidence, you provided, I was certain that your conclusion was correct — and I still am. There's something about Light-san that never set right with me, and it's even worse now since I came back. He's...different. I can't explain it, but somehow he seems different. His eyes..." She frowned, shaking her head and sighing for nearly the thousandth time. "His eyes are more..._cunning_. Sharper. Darker. Colder. He seems almost...arrogant."

"And what," Ryuzaki inquired, "do you think could be the reason for that?"

Sakura shook her head again, frown deepening as she stared off into space. "I don't know."

"What about Higuchi?"

A puzzled look overtook her expression.

"Who?"

"Higuchi of the Yotsuba Group."

It clicked after a second.

"Oh. The psycho that had the Death Note?"

"Yes. Do you believe he was actually a Third Kira?"

Sakura paused.

"...yes and no."

The look on Ryuzaki's face clearly said, 'And...?'

"He...I believe he _is_ technically a Third Kira, but I also think that he was filling in for Kira."

"You mean the notebook switched from Kira to Higuchi, and Higuchi was merely taking over for a while?"

"Yes."

Ryuzaki's slight smile returned. "I had the same suspicions."

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. Good. At least she wasn't crazy.

"And the Second Kira?"

"That's what troubles me," the kunoichi murmured. "Surely if they wanted to prove Misa-san's innocence, they'd find someone to fill the roll of the Second Kira."

"So you think Light-kun himself picked Higuchi as a temporary replacement?"

"No... Actually, something you said gave me this idea."

"Oh?"

"I think Light-san willingly gave up his notebook and memories of it to feign innocence during his captivity."

Ryuzaki nodded slowly, approvingly.

"And also," Sakura continued, "the SHinigami Rem said that Higuchi was merely the one that picked up the notebook after it was dropped — but Ream didn't say _where_ it was dropped. For all we know, the Shinigami could've tossed it in Higuchi's office so that only he would have the chance to take it."

"Then Higuchi _was_ purposefully sought out?"

"By the Shinigami, not Light-san."

Ryuzaki thought for a moment.

"Then, the change you described in Light-kun... Do you think it could be because he has become Kira again?"

Sakura's eyebrows shot up and she remained silent for a few heartbeats.

"I...I didn't think of that..." She met the detective's eyes steadily. "Yes. That seems like the only other explanation."

"Why would the Shinigami help Light-kun?" Ryuzaki asked a minute later.

"Ah, yes," the rosette said, seeming encouraged. "Thank you for reminding me." Her eyes glowed slightly, as if she felt a bit proud of herself for her next bit of information. "I'm almost certain that Light-san has leverage over Rem."

Ryuzaki's eyebrows raised.

"How so?"

"I can't prove this," Sakura warned, "but I saw something with my own eyes."

"The big something that 'sealed the deal' for you?"

Sakura smiled. "Yes."

"Let's hear it, then."

"When you were asking Rem questions yesterday, particularly after your question about losing memories of the Death Note, Rem looked at Light-san."

Ryuzaki studied her for a moment.

"When you say 'looked at'...?"

"Looked at for confirmation."

His eyes were unblinking.

"Explain your reasoning for this."

Sakura wasn't offended in the slightest. She'd known he would want to hear every detail before drawing a conclusion.

"When you asked about losing the Death Note and then losing all memories of it, both Rem _and_ Light-san looked shocked. Granted, Light-san could have looked shocked simply because he hadn't thought of that, but I suspect otherwise. And before answering your question, Rem quickly glanced at him, as if making sure she had permission to reply."

He said nothing.

"And also," Sakura added, "if Light-san truly does have leverage over Rem, then he could have easily persuaded the Shinigami to scribble a fake rule or two in the notebook."

She didn't need to say which rule she was referring to. He knew: the 13 day rule.

Ryuzaki was silent for a very long time as he thought it over. Sakura watched his intently, nervously. Was what she had said plausible? Did it make sense? Would he believe her? She could only hope.

Sakura knew that the only reason she noticed so many odd things about Light was because she wasn't particularly fond of him. If she had been close to the man like Ryuzaki and the others, she would have unconsciously overlooked it. And that, she realized, was exactly what she'd done with Sasuke. She'd unintentionally ignored his great many faults by deluding herself into thinking that she loved him.

Yeah. Big mistake.

Then, slowly, Ryuzaki met her gaze. He looked absolutely certain.

"I believe you."

Sakura felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her chest. In her relief, she gave in to what was quite possibly the stupidest thing she had ever done.

She leaned forward and hugged Ryuzaki for all she was worth.

The detective just sat there rigidly, not moving a muscle. His eyes were unblinking. He didn't even appear to be breathing. Sakura froze, silently cursing herself to all seven levels of Hell and back.

What was she thinking? Damn, she was an _idiot_. Ryuzaki didn't like to be touched.

_Good job, dumbass._ she told herself crossly. _Why don't you just go royally screw things up next time?_

Sakura lifted her head, eyes adverted, and quickly untangled herself from him as if he were on fire. He sat absolutely still, staring intently at her face. The kunoichi just barely managed to keep a streak of red from staining her cheeks.

"I finally understand," Ryuzaki said quietly, "your reaction from the day that the nurse in your world led me to your office in the hospital."

Sakura eyes flickered up to him. Before she had a chance to react, she felt his lips press against her cheek. She gasped and jerked back, staring at the man in wide-eyed shock.

"W-wha?" she stammered.

"As I thought."

Ryuzaki's expression was utterly normal. He didn't seem troubled in the least. In fact, he looked a bit satisfied at having figured it out.

"Obviously, we posses a mutual interest in one another."

Sakura's face blazed thirty shades of red, and she very nearly gasped again.

"Wha — how — I — but —"

She couldn't form a complete thought, much less a sentence. She desperately wished for a black hole to open up beneath her and suck her in. Ryuzaki merely watched her reaction, calmly, honestly not understand why she was 'freaking out'.

"What is the problem?" he inquired blankly, miffed.

"You — you can't just do that!" Sakura choked out, her voice many pitches higher than normal. She appeared to be having a panic attack.

"Why not? We share an obvious mutual interest in one another. It's simple."

"It's not simple!"

"Please enlighten me, Sakura-san — or shall I just call you Sakura? You are failing to make sense."

"I'm making perfect sense!"

"Then I _should_ call you only 'Sakura' and not 'Sakura-san'?"

"W-wha —! Damn it, you're impossible!"

"I am not impossible because I exist. Therefore, the word I believe you're looking for is 'improbable'."

"That's not the point!"

"Then what exactly _is_ your point?"

"You—!"

Sakura let out a frustrated yell, turning her computer chair to face the opposite direction childishly. Ryuzaki stared after her, a question practically visible on his expression. The kunoichi's face was still bright red and her back was rigid as she glared at the wall, arms crossed over her chest.

As luck would have it, the remaining task force members walking in a moment later. They peered curiously at the pain, noting Sakura's embarrassment/fury and Ryuzaki's confusion.

"Everything alright in here?" Aizawa inquired cautiously, looking back and forth between them. "We heard a yell from the hallway."

"Are you two fighting?" Matsuda asked, getting in his two bits.

Ryuzaki blinked at them.

"I don't know," he replied bluntly, looking utterly puzzled. "Sakura is reacting rather outrageously, simply because I stated that we obviously share a mutual interest in one another."

The force was taken aback in shock, and Matsuda's face turned the color of Sakura's hair. Said girl looked as though she had been struck by lightning.

"Ryu— _L!_"


	20. Shattered Image of Perfection

Yes, I know — it's short. And, yes, I also know — it's been a while.

IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR.

I was grounded... TT^TT Stupid dad and his crazy-high expectations for my algebra class...

ANYWAYS.

Yeah, um...sorry? ^^;

Well, I hope you all like it! :D Please read and review!

**EDIT:** A quick note! This chapter is dedicated to annee loves sasusaku because she is an awesomesauce, kick-ass, cool person that reviews like a review-demon! :D YOU ARE AMAZING, MY FRIEND. THIS CHAPTER IS ALL FOR YOU — and I shall write a one-shot for you, as well~. OwO Just PM me and tell me what you'd like!

OVER AND OUT!

* * *

For a long while after that, the task force worked in an awkward silence. To Ryuzaki, who bore a red hand-shaped mark on his cheek, the quiet atmosphere was perfectly fine. He was completely oblivious to how uncomfortable the others were — except Light; he was just annoyed. Sakura pointedly refused to look at the dark-haired detective. It was blatantly obvious to them all. Rem had been let back into the room, and the Shinigami was content to just stand there quietly and watch them work.

Light was the one to eventually break the silence.

"This air is suffocating."

Ryuzaki looked at him blankly, while the others seemed relieved to have some form of noise as a distraction. To their surprise — and Sakura's chagrin — he shot the lone female in the room a flaming glare.

"Your presence here is making it worse," he stated bluntly. "Go do something somewhere else."

Sakura glowered back at him. "Light!" Soichiro chastised in disbelief. "Don't be so rude!"

Light obviously didn't think he was being rude at all. "I'm only delivering the facts," he said. "She's making the atmosphere tense and uneasy, and it's extremely difficult to work under these conditions. She needs to leave."

"_Light_!"

"Pardon me, Light-kun," Ryuzaki interrupted, "but I do not understand. I don't sense this 'tense and uneasy atmosphere' that you speak of."

Matsuda and Aizawa exchanged an incredulous look.

"Maybe _you_ can't feel it," Light conceded, "but it's there." He narrowed his eyes at Sakura to get his point across.

"Nevertheless," Ryuzaki continued, "there is no reason to throw Sakura out. She hasn't done anything."

An uncomfortable silence followed. Sakura's eyebrow twitched. She let out an irritated sigh and pushed herself off the couch with more force than necessary. "Fine," she hissed, throwing Light a dirty look. Her tone was icy. "I can tell when I'm _unwelcome_."

L called after the woman as she whipped around to stalk out of the room. "You do not have to leave simply because Light-kun doesn't appear to like you at the moment."

"Of course I do," she said coldly, glancing over her shoulder at him as though her eyes were made of steel. "I wouldn't want to _screw up_ anything you're working on like I always seem to do back home." She gave a bitter laugh as she pulled the door open. "I don't know why I even bothered coming back."

The door slammed behind her.

Uneasily, Matsuda and Aizawa peeked over at Ryuzaki. Soichiro glared at his son, and Light sat down with a grunt, going back to work. L sat unmoving, staring at the door. He was quiet for a long moment. Then:

"Watari," he murmured quietly, eyes never leaving the door.

"_Yes?"_ The old man's voice came from the monitor displaying a black gothic-font 'W.'

"Go after her."

"_Of course, Ryuzaki. I will make sure nothing happens to her."_

o o o O O O o o o

"_Goddamn it_!" Sasuke hissed furiously, throwing his kusanagi down with much more force than necessary. He yelled out his frustrations like an enraged demon, glaring at everything in sight.

The portal to the other world had been sealed.

And a letter-scroll was lying on the ground.

Addressed to Sasuke.

'_HA. Take THAT you evil little troll-faced bastard.'_

Signed, Tsunade.

Mother _fucker_.

o o o O O O o o o

"Sakura-san."

The kunoichi paused in her ground-eating pace to see Watari slip out of the task force's building behind her. She stopped and waited for him to catch up.

"What are you doing out here?" Sakura asked. Watari smiled warmly at her.

"Ryuzaki asked me to accompany you," he replied. "You are unfamiliar with the city, and we wouldn't want you accidentally doing something to attract police attention."

Sakura nodded curtly. "Fair enough." They set off walking at a slow, comfortable pace. "Where shall we go, Grandfather?"

He gave a quiet chuckle. "Why, wherever you desire, my dear granddaughter."

Sakura cracked a smile. They were quiet for a long while as they walked. Watari took her to multiple places — an ice cream shop to get fixed on a sugar high, a pet store to act like an idiot and wave at the adorable kittens, a car lot to explain to her how cars worked; she couldn't remember half of the places they went to.

They even walked through a small park — and lord behold, a kunai knife was lodged very deeply close to the top of a tree. Sakura couldn't help it; she burst out laughing as she retrieved it. She remembered that kunai well.

.

.

.

_When the muscles in her left arm spasmed, Sakura glared down at the limb. "Kuso," she muttered, huffing. "Stupid Akatsuki, and their jutsu. Stupid Naruto, and his inability to keep out of danger." She scowled. "Stupid portal!"_

_With determination burning fiercely in her glower, Sakura chucked the kunai she was holding straight through the window, not even wincing when the glass shattered and the weapon disappeared very far into the distance. Misa jumped, latching onto Light's arm, who attempted to shove her off._

"_...what was your purpose in that?" Ryuzaki asked after a moment, watching as Sakura continued to glare black flames after her kunai knife._

"_Anger management."_

.

.

.

Oh, happy days.

"I happen to recall," Watari remarked in amusement, "your rather extreme anger management methods."

Sakura grinned widely at the old man, surprising him. He was fairly certain he'd never seen such a carefree, beautiful smile from the girl before. She wore the expression of a person that truly enjoyed life — a person that lived entirely for herself rather than for the sake of others.

Then, he realized _why_ he'd never seen that smile before.

Sakura had changed.

Her purpose in life before coming to their world had been to serve others, to spend every day fixing the broken shinobi that were hauled through the Konoha hospital doors until one showed up that demanded her all — that demanded her life in exchange for his second chance at living.

But not now. Not anymore. Watari could see it: her purpose now was to live her life to the fullest to make up for her past mistakes.

She really was Naruto's sister in every way but blood.

Watari also saw, he noted with warm appreciation, exactly why L was so fascinated with her.

"Ryuzaki cares very deeply for you, I hope you realize." He glanced down at her tense from the corner of his eye. She wouldn't meet his gaze. "He even asked you to call him 'L' rather than 'Ryuzaki.'"

That sly old bastard. So he _was_ listening at the doorway when they spoke that morning.

"Yeah?" she muttered, grimacing down at the ground. "What's so special about that? This whole damn world knows him a 'L the detective.'"

Watari smiled knowingly. He leaned down. His lips moved. Sakura's eyes widened. A questioned formed on her lips. He nodded.

Sakura remained quiet for the rest of their peaceful little stroll.

.

.

.

Sakura felt much more at ease as she grabbed the doorknob to walk into the task force's headquarters. She nodded a salutation to Watari before entering the room. The task force was obviously much more relaxed as well.

"First I want to investigate all accidental deaths in the Kanto Region since Kira appeared," he announced, looking through a thin stack of papers in his hand. Sakura, two sticks of pocky hanging from the side of her mouth, turned to look at Light as she listened. "Then all sudden deaths by disease among younger people. Analyze the number based on region and employment to check for any anomalies."

Matsuda gave a choked cry of objection, earning a chastising from Aizawa. "Matsuda, stop whining. If more notebooks exist, then this is what we have to do."

"Don't sweat it," Sakura added, sending the young man an encouraging smile. "It'll be done in no time with all of us working."

Matsuda nodded weakly in gratitude, though still looked distressed. The kunoichi paused to glance over at Ryuzaki. He had joined Rem near the couches, and he was grilling the Shinigami yet again over a few things. She heard him asking about how Higuchi got possession of the notebook and couldn't help a small smile. A dull _'beep'_ attracted her attention to one of the many monitors.

"Oh, it's Misa Misa!" Matsuda gushed, overjoyed. "Poor girl. Since Light can't turn on his phone in here, she has to come here to see him."

"Light, hurry down there," his father ordered affectionately. "You don't keep a woman waiting."

"Yeah," the young task force member mumbled, walking out to do just that.

As he left the room, Ryuzaki spoke up. "Sakura?"

She sat frozen, staring wide-eyed at the screen that displayed Misa's form. Matsuda, Aizawa, Soichiro, and Mogi all looked at the pink-haired woman in confusion, exchanging puzzled glances. Ryuzaki, however, recognized that glint in her eye. She had seen something — something important.

He was on his feet instantly, crossing the room to her. He grabbed her shoulder, startling her out of her thoughts, and she whirled around to face him. They locked eyes — hers wide and disbelieving, his serious and unblinking.

"Sakura," he murmured in a manner than would have made her heart leap into her throat had she not been experiencing a tremendous shock at the moment. "What do you see?"

None of them noticed Rem phase away through a wall, a thunderous expression upon the creature's face.

"A Shinigami," Sakura whispered, her hand unconsciously twisting into his shirt. "There's a Shinigami with Misa."

"_What_?" Soichiro exclaimed, looking as though he'd been struck by lightning. "That's — that's not possible!"

"Of course it is, Yagami-san," Ryuzaki said quietly, shifting his eyes to the man after a moment. "All of the clues point to Light-kun and Amane."

Another small occurrence none of the task force members noticed in their distracted state: Rem on the camera, warning Light and Misa that Sakura had seen Ryuk.

"What about the thirteen day rule?" Matsuda demanded. "If Light and Misa Misa were the Kiras, then they would be dead right down for not writing down any names within thirteen days!"

"Not if the rule was fake," Ryuzaki corrected.

"Fake?" Soichiro echoed in shock.

"How can you be sure?" Aizawa inquired, seeming truly interested. Of the entire task force, he appeared to be the only one open to the idea of Light and Misa being guilty.

And then, Sakura's head shot up. Ryuzaki, startled, looked down at her.

"Sakura?"

Before the others could say anything, she tore away from L and dashed to the door. She snatched a glove from the pouch on her hip and pulled it quickly onto her left hand, flattening herself against the wall. The door opened. In flew Light with Misa on his heels, Ryuk staying hidden in the hallway and Rem nowhere to be found. The instant Misa set foot through the doorway, Sakura punched her in the face. The blond fell like a sack of bricks, knocked out cold.

"What the hell—"

Sakura caught Light's fist as he threw a punch of his own and yanked it behind his back, causing the man to yell out in pain and anger.

"Are you crazy?" he shouted furiously.

She wrenched his arm further down, forcing Light to bend lower until her mouth was level with her ear. "Misa-san is the Second Kira," she murmured flatly. "She possesses the Eyes. We cannot allow her to see the real name of any person in this room."

Light could have killed her. He honestly could have killed her. If he have been able to jerk his arm free, he would've choked the life from the little pink-haired bitch. He had been planning to use Misa for exactly the purpose she had stated.

Unlike someone of lesser intelligence, Light didn't fall for the trap Sakura had set for him. He didn't get caught up in his words and inadvertently reveal that he _was_, in fact, Kira. Seriously, what kind of idiot did she think he was?

"What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded, attempting to glare at her over his shoulder. It proved to be much more difficult than he first imagined. "Misa isn't the Second Kira! When are you going to get that through your thick head?"

"Oh, but you see, Light-kun," Ryuzaki spoke up in his typical fashion. "We have quite the load of evidence that says she _is_ the Second Kira — and that you are Kira."

A bluff. Sort of.

They _technically_ had evidence (a couple eye-witness accounts, a profile, etc.); just not _solid_ evidence. But what was the difference, really? So what if they couldn't exactly prove it? Pssh. Evidence was overrated.

"You, too, Ryuzaki?" Light exclaimed in a very good show of fake shock. He would've made a damn fine actor in another life. "How _could_ you? I thought we were friends!"

_We were,_ the detective replied silently, somewhat disappointed. He had always suspected Light of being Kira, but after getting close to the man, he had hoped it wasn't true. He was almost positive now that it was.

"Hey," Aizawa suddenly said, looking around in surprise. "Where's that Shinigami Rem?"

A crash sounded over one of the monitors.

They all whipped around, searching for the noise. Ryuzaki instantly knew where it had come from.

"What's wrong, Watari?" he asked faintly, his voice slightly off. Sakura's eyes shot to his face, and she saw the alarm in his dark gaze. "Watari…?"

Sakura dropped Light — because, honestly, what could he do? He didn't have a notebook on him (hopefully) and she was much stronger than him. She leapt up at Ryuzaki's side just as a long, loud noise screeched from the monitor. The words _'All Data Deleted'_ appeared on the screen.

Slowly, Sakura looked at Ryuzaki.

And then, he fell.


	21. Names

Again, shortness. I know. It was required, though, because of where I planned the beginning and end of the chapter.

This chapter is dedicated to Shining Through for being epic and awesomesauce and generally just really cool. I mean, damn - she reviewed on _every single chapter_ of this story - TONIGHT.

Thank you, **Shining Through**, for that! This chapter is for you! :)

Oh, yes - and something else: I have a new story that I started called _Letters to Sasuke_, and it's supposed to be funny and stuff so, uh, yeah... please read it?

Please read and review!

* * *

Black. White. Gray. Red. Blue. Purple. Green. Orange. Yellow.

Color.

No color.

Nothingness.

An enormous stretch of absolutely nothing.

These were the things he could see.

Couldn't see.

Could sense.

Couldn't sense.

It was just…nothing.

Did he see this? Or hear it? Or smell it? Taste it? Touch it? Think it? Sense it?

Yes.

No.

There was no answer.

There was no question.

There was nothing.

Infinitely nothing.

Just…

No words to describe it.

No voice to say it.

No lips to form it.

No mouth to create it.

No anything.

Nothing.

Death is easy. Natural.

Because you don't have to do anything. You don't experience anything.

It's like being asleep — except without the dreams.

Falling under that black wave, that damnable black wave you don't even realize is there, tugging you under. The mist of utter darkness that sucks you in.

Dying is like falling asleep.

You don't remember it. You don't sense it. You don't recognize it.

You're just awake one moment, then the next

You're waking up.

From death. To life.

.

This is what happened to L. One moment he was lying there, frozen, feeling his heart slam into his rib cage.

Then he was looking up at a face.

He didn't remember falling under that seductive deep sleep. He didn't remember staying in the eternity of absolute nothingness. He didn't remember waking up, rising through the black mist and back to the light.

He didn't remember any of it.

As if he'd been asleep.

All he knew now was that he was looking at a face.

A strange face. One he thought he recognized but couldn't place. He didn't know that expression. That twist of pure and undiluted fear, pain, sorrow, torture.

He did, however, recognize that small flame of hope that seemed to grow the longer he stared at that face.

And then, he knew the face.

Sakura.

And she was crying.

.

"…Sakura?"

His voice was slightly rough, and it was almost painful to speak. Before he could react, she had thrown herself on him.

Her arms behind his neck. Her face pressed to his chest.

Crying.

He winced at her sudden weight, blinking to rid his vision of the fuzzy patches drifting in and out. Almost awkwardly, he placed his hands at her waist, as if attempting to push her off without the actual pushing part. He didn't move.

Because, honestly? He had no damn clue as to what to do. Mass murderers and mind-boggling puzzles he could deal with. A crying woman? Not so much.

More like, not at all.

He seriously didn't know what he was supposed to do. Hug her? Hold her? Say something?

It was all incredibly weird and…well, just_ weird_.

He swallowed to wet his suddenly dry throat, trying weakly to choke out something.

"Sakura…?"

When she looked at him, she didn't do that typical freeze, squeak, and leap back in mortification thing. She just looked at him.

Fear. Relief. Joy.

These and many more emotions flashed through her gaze. She really was an open book, he realized. It surprised him how easily he could read her.

"As content as I am to lie here all day on my back, unable to move or see anything in particular except for yourself, you are getting incredibly heavy."

Sakura looked down at him in surprise. Then, she laughed. That was the first time she'd ever heard him remotely attempt sarcasm. Of course, he'd failed horrible at the sarcastic tone, but his meaning was clear.

"I'm sorry," she apologized as she pushed herself up, wiping at her eyes with a smile trembling on her lips. "I know, I know: I'm fat. People have been telling me that for years."

Her comment sparked a laugh out of Matsuda.

That was when Ryuzaki realized that the rest of the task force _was_, in fact, in the room and _was_, in fact, watching them.

Well, most of them, at least.

Matsuda, Aizawa, and Soichiro were all standing a few feet away, looking incredibly relieved to see him, well…not dead anymore. Light and Misa were nowhere to be found. Then, a thought struck him. Ryuzaki shoved himself up to sit, quick as lightning, and grabbed Sakura's wrist. She turned back and looked at him in confusion.

"Watari," he whispered.

Sakura smiled warmly. "He's alright," she murmured. Slowly, she shifted to the side and gestured with her other hand. Ryuzaki followed her indication and found himself staring.

There sat Watari in a fashion like himself.

Very much alive.

Smiling at him.

"You should have seen her, Ryuzaki!" Matsuda gushed in awe, grinning. "We dragged Watari in here, and Sakura shoved that green chakra stuff into his chest over and over…"

Ryuzaki didn't hear the rest, even as the young man continued rambling animatedly. Gradually, he turned his gaze back to Sakura. She was still smiling at him with that beautiful look on her face that he couldn't seem to identify. For the first time in his entire life, Ryuzaki felt happy to be alive.

"And—"

"Matsuda-san," Watari suddenly spoke up, interrupting him. "Would you, Aizawa-san, and Yagami-san mind helping me up? I've gotten quite frail in my old age, I'm afraid."

"Oh — of course!"

Immediately, the three reached out and eased the elderly man to his feet, making sure he was steady.

"And would you help me to my room, as well?" he asked, seeming amused for some reason that Matsuda didn't understand. "I fear I can't make it by myself."

"Sure thing, Watari!" Matsuda agreed instantly.

It confused him all to hell as to why Aizawa and Soichiro were laughing. Seriously, what the heck was so funny? Watari was old and he needed help. So what? That wasn't funny. Only assholes laughed at old men who needed help getting up and walking.

So, seriously, man — what the fuck was so funny?

Poor Matsuda just didn't understand.

And, Sakura realized as she glanced at him, neither did L.

He looked at her blankly as they were left alone. Sakura laughed.

"…?"

She smiled. "It's nothing."

.

.

.

Fifteen minutes later found them here:

Sakura sitting on the floor, her legs folded neatly to one side, running her fingers methodically through Ryuzaki's unruly black hair. L laying comfortably on his back, his head resting in Sakura's lap, his eyes closed. Relaxed. Peaceful.

Wisps of bright green chakra flickered on her fingertips as she massaged his scalp, gently easing the headache he hadn't been able to hide from her. They were silent for a very long time, content to just enjoy the other's company. It was Sakura who eventually spoke first.

"Why do you want me to call you 'L'?" she asked softly.

His eyes flickered open, and he studied her face for a moment with an unreadable expression. Sakura waited patiently for his reply. She wasn't sure how long they remained in silence — perhaps for an hour, perhaps for a moment.

An image from earlier that day, seemingly years previous, played in her mind.

.

"_Ryuzaki cares very deeply for you, I hope you realize." He glanced down at her tense from the corner of his eye. She wouldn't meet his gaze. "He even asked you to call him 'L' rather than 'Ryuzaki.'"_

_That sly old bastard. So he __**was**__ listening at the doorway when they spoke that morning._

"_Yeah?" she muttered, grimacing down at the ground. "What's so special about that? This whole damn world knows him as 'L the detective.'"_

_Watari smiled knowingly. He leaned down. His lips moved. Sakura's eyes widened. A questioned formed on her lips. He nodded._

_Sakura remained quiet for the rest of their peaceful little stroll._

.

Sakura couldn't help a small smile.

.

"_Because 'L' is his real name."_

.

He met her gaze evenly. He suspected she already knew, but she wanted to hear it from him. So, he humored her.

"I'd rather someone I trust so absolutely to know my real name."

Sakura smiled with that beautiful expression L had seen before — and suddenly he realized why he liked the look on her face so much. He didn't have long to ponder his new discovery, however.

Because that was when Sakura kissed him.

.

.

.

"Light?" Misa asked uncertainly. "Are you…okay?"

He didn't reply, instead curling one hand into a fist and glaring at the television screen. He paid no attention to the criminals being introduced; he didn't care. He was still pissed about being forced to leave because his cover had been blown. He and Misa had only stayed long enough to hear the crash on Watari's monitor and watch L collapse.

He'd seen Sakura fall to her knees at his sides, screaming his name and shaking him. Begging him to get up. Not to fall asleep.

Then, they'd gone.

But not before finding and taking Rem's notebook, of course. Something still disturbed him, though — something he hadn't told Misa or Ryuk.

He'd opened the notebook to see L and Watari's real names out of curiosity — and it had been there.

Sakura's name had been written before both Watari and L's.


	22. Shards of Time Fly by Without a Sound

This chapter is longer. Obviously.

Two things: I hope you all catch the reference to _Romeo and Juliet_ (Suicidal teenagers).

Also, a lot of time passes in this chapter. It'll be obviously when a timeskip occurs because it'll mention 'three days previous' and stuff like that.

So, yeah.

Please read and review!

* * *

The great Thomas Carlyle once said: "If you are ever in doubt as to whether to kiss a pretty girl, always give her the benefit of the doubt."

He was old and experienced and knew what he was talking about, right?

Sure.

So, going by the man's credibility, L humored him. And it worked.

At first.

When Sakura pulled back after a moment, that was when things got — oh, what's the word?

Well, there's lots of words to describe it.

Odd. Uncomfortable. Strange. New. Different.

Oh, yes. And _awkward_.

BIG TIME. FUCKING. AWKWARD.

.

.

.

For a while, at least.

They gradually grew…less uneasy.

In fact, after a while it became _comfortable_.

Well, as comfortable as one can get when sitting on the floor in a position that hurts your legs or lying with your head resting in a girl's lap.

But, still. It was comfortable.

And they weren't even avoiding each other's eyes! Oh, JOYOUS DAY!

Sakura had to ask; she couldn't help it. "What are we, L?"

He glanced up at her, seeming to think for a long moment. He opened his mouth to reply, but Sakura suddenly cut him off.

"And _don't_," she added, laughter in her eyes, "say that we 'share a mutual interest in one another'."

He paused, then smiled — that smile that made her laugh and creeped out a certain someone whom Sakura intended to never encounter again unless she was killing her.

"We are whatever you decide we are."

Sakura smiled. "Well, then, I'll have you know, L — we are what all normal people who 'share a mutual interest in one another' are."

"And what would that be? Suicidal teenagers?"

"Don't be a smartass, L." Sakura's smile widened. "While hilarious, it's not your usual demeanor."

"Oh, yes; I forgot. That would be _your_ area of expertise."

"Damn straight, it is."

.

.

.

"Kira has attacked again," Matsuda reported grimly, the pale blue glow of the television he was watching reflecting on his face. Aizawa and Sakura glanced at Soichiro. His expression was unreadable, but he was obviously pained.

"I hope you realize, Yagami-san," L spoke up, eyes on a computer screen, "what we have to do." He popped a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

Soichiro sighed, appearing much older than his years. "Yes," he agreed quietly. "I know." Aizawa and Matsuda wore pitying looks. Sakura switched her gaze from person to person, confused. "What?" she asked, taking a seat on the large desk that housed the computers. She took the second spoon lying beside her that Watari had considerately provided, using it to steal part of L's ice cream. He frowned but said nothing, figuring that he could always just get more. "What, exactly, is this thing that we're supposed to do?"

She received her answer half an hour later after Aizawa made a phone call.

"_We repeat,"_ the female news reporter on Sakura TV announced. _"Model Amane Misa and her fiancée, Yagami Light, are wanted for multiple counts of first-degree murder. They are dangerous and most likely armed."_ Sakura snorted. _"If you see either of these individuals, you are to contact this number immediately:…"_

She proceeded to rattle off the number of a cell phone that Watari kept on at all times, even when working the case. It was for emergencies only, seeing as none of the other task force members were permitted to have their phones on while on the job. Pictures of both Light and Misa were displayed on the screen for identification purposes — even a picture L had gotten a hold of showing Misa in her disguised get-up from the day she met Light in Aoyama.

Sakura still found the name of the TV station amusing, no matter how many times she heard it. Quietly, she glanced over at Soichiro's despairing form. It must be hard for him, she thought to herself, to have to watch and do these things. Matsuda, Aizawa, and L were all three watching the same message being broadcast over different stations.

Soon, the whole country would be after Light and Misa; and soon, they would be found.

o o o O O O o o o

_20d14h46m54s._

That was the message he, headmaster (for all intents and purposes) of Wammy's House, had received exactly three days previous. From Quillish Wammy.

Watari.

The founder of the orphanage.

Were he to check the counter now, it would read: _17d9h13m38s._

Seventeen days.

Nine hours.

Thirteen minutes.

Thirty-eight seconds.

Until another message was sent.

A message declaring the death of L.

o o o O O O o o o

It was early morning, far too early for the task force to be present and working. Of course, L and Sakura were already awake. Insomniacs are alike, after all.

They were sitting in computer chairs in the main room — L in his typical very uncomfortable-looking position — sharing a shitload of food so packed with sugary goodness that it wouldn't be a surprise if one of them suddenly keeled over and died. (Or developed diabetes.)

"_Ryuzaki."_

They both glanced at the monitor displaying a large gothic-font 'W,' interrupted mid-conversation. L pressed the communicator button.

"Yes?" he asked. "What is it, Watari?"

"_I haven't brought this up before now, because there was plenty of time,"_ he began. _"Now, however, we have only three days remaining."_

L didn't ask what he was referring to. He knew.

He pressed the button to talk. "Let it go."

"_Very well."_

Sakura looked at L in confusion.

He said nothing.

o o o O O O o o o

He was working in his office when he happened to glance at his phone. It ended right before his eyes.

_00d00h00m00s._

His eyes widened. He saw the exact second the message arrived.

_L is dead._

There is was. The message due to be sent precisely twenty days, fourteen hours, forty-six minutes, and fifty-four seconds after Watari's computer was wiped of all memory.

He closed his eyes and sat there for a long while.

Quillish Wammy was dead.

L was dead.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. Pained. Sad. Reluctant.

It was time.

After a moment, he got up out of his chair and walked into the hallway. He strolled throughout the orphanage without haste, dreading what he was required to do. Children rushed past in excitement as he turned down another hallway.

"Oh, Mr. Roger," a woman — one of the works that watched over the children — murmured in surprise.

Roger caught a blond-haired boy by the arm. "Mello," he said quietly.

"Huh?"

"And Near," he added, poking his head into a room and looking at a curly-white-haired boy working on a puzzle. "Come to my room."

"Yes."

.

Roger sat at his desk, lips pressed against his folded hands. Head bowed slightly. Eyes closed.

"What is it, Roger?" Mello demanded.

The blond stood impatiently, wanting to join the other children in a game of soccer. Near sat on the floor beside him, still working on the puzzle.

A large, pure white puzzle except for a small red 'L' in the top left corner.

Roger was silent for a long moment.

"L is dead."

o o o O O O o o o

"L?"

Said man tilted his head back and looked up at Sakura, who had placed her hands on the back of his chair and was leaning over him.

"Who are these 'M' and 'N' characters that have recently shown up?" she asked. "Aizawa-san mentioned them last night. When I asked, he said that they had begun working on the Kira case roughly a week ago from unknown locations."

L gave his usual smile. "My replacements," he replied.

Sakura rose an eyebrow smoothly.

"They believe I am dead."

Her eyes flickered. It took a moment before she could speak again.

"Were they trained somewhere to replace you?" she inquired.

"In a way."

Her lips curved up at the edges. "Are their names 'M' and 'N' as well?"

His smile returned. "I don't know their real names, but I _do_ know they aren't 'M' and 'N'. That's just me." Sakura laughed.

"So that makes you special."

She leaned down further and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Congratulations."

.

.

.

"_Ryuzaki."_

The task force paused in its work and looked up in surprised. L recognized that tone. He pressed the communication button.

"Yes?"

"_I received a call. Someone has sighted Light."_

.

.

.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Aizawa," Sakura said, smiling. "Don't worry; we can finish organizing the papers ourselves. Go home. Get some rest."

The man looked uncertain. He looked to L for confirmation.

L wasn't paying any attention to them.

Aizawa sighed. "Fine," he surrendered. "Sorry to leave you two with so many papers…"

He examined the room with a frown. Papers were thrown quite literally _everywhere_.

"Forget it," Sakura urged. "We'll be fine."

He gave a tired smile and hugged her with one arm. "Alright, kid." He ruffled her hair as if he was her father. "Good night. I'll see you tomorrow."

Sakura smiled and hugged him back, making a face when messed with her hair. "'Night."

She sighed after he closed the door behind himself, falling back on the couch. She landed on fifty or so papers, but she honestly didn't give a shit. She stretched out, her head and feet touching both arms rests, splaying an arm over her eyes. A moment later, she heard L roll up in his computer chair.

"_You_ need rest as well," he murmured.

Oh, so he _had_ been listening.

Sakura smiled, though didn't move her arm from covering her eyes. "Maybe," she agreed. "But we have too much work to do for sleep."

"You don't seem to be working to me."

She laughed, gazing up at him around her wrist.

"Use your imagination," she joked. "See?" She twisted her face into a painfully-concentrated expression. "I'm picking up the papers with my _mind_."

"You're doing an excellent job," he remarked.

Sakura smiled. "Thanks." She sat up, tugged him off the computer chair and onto the couch, and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I demand this shoulder. It belongs to me now."

"Oh, really?" She smiled again, eyes closed. "Then, this belongs to me."

Before she had a chance to react, his hand suddenly seized her ankle and yanked. Sakura gasped as her leg was pulled out from under her. She was jerked to the side, and she landed flat on her back in his lap. She stared up at him in shock. His eyes were filled with laughter.

Then, she laughed, swatting at him. "You butthead."

He smiled.

.

.

.

L rose at the crack of dawn. Again.

And walked down to the main task force room to contact Watari and ask for a lot of sugar-packed food.

Again.

He sat there. In his favorite position.

And waited.

After a few minutes, Watari appeared with a cartful of a diabetic's nightmare. L thanked him and accepted the treats of sugary goodness, popping a piece of chocolate-covered candy into his mouth before speaking.

"I'm surprised that Sakura isn't up," he murmured, chewing on the candy. He glanced over at Watari. "Could you check in on her?" he asked. "She may be sick."

Watari bowed, smiling kindly. "Of course."

He left with the cart, allowing L to eat his sugar-packed deathtraps in silence. The elderly man returned a long while later, an unreadable expression on his face.

.

.

.

"What do you mean she's _gone_?" Aizawa demanded. "She _can't_ be gone!"

"She was just here last night!" Matsuda added, sounding worried.

"Damn it!" Aizawa swore, slamming his hands down on the coffee table before him. He and Soichiro sat on the couch that Sakura and L had been on the previous night. Matsuda and Mogi stood close by. L sat in a computer chair, seemingly not paying attention. "I _knew_ I shouldn't have left all that work for you two to do last night! She probably got so stressed out, that she left!"

"Come on, Aizawa," Mogi reasoned. "She wouldn't just leave because of that. You know her."

The man sighed, running his hands along his face. Soichiro looked at L.

"Do you know where she is?" he asked.

L sat with his back to the task force, facing the computer screens. He stared sightlessly at them. "No."

"Do you know _why_ she left?" Matsuda sounded as if he was begging L to give him a positive answer.

"No."

"What are we going to do?" he cried, sinking to sit on the couch beside Soichiro. "She could be _any_where!"

"She might have gone home," the former police chief murmured.

"_Soichiro_!" Matsuda hissed, glancing frantically at L.

The older man looked up as well, immediately regretting his words.

L was silent.

.

.

.

Sakura didn't return that night.

L knew.

Because he waited up all night for her.

.

.

.

The next morning, she still wasn't there. L thought back to the previous morning when he had sent Watari to check in on Sakura. Doing so brought up another memory. Of the day after he returned to his world without her.

.

_Ryuzaki awoke at the ass-crack of dawn as usual. He had slept for a grand total of — wait for it — __**thirty-two minutes**__. It was practically a new record. He should receive a Nobel Prize for that._

_He sat up unblinkingly, his hair as wild and messy as always. Without so much as yawning or stretching, the young detective climbed out of bed — wearing his usual attire, mind you — and walked out of the room. For anyone else, this would be a strange morning, but to Ryuzaki, it was perfectly normal. He ascended the stairs to main room that he and the task force worked in, claiming his usual spot in his usual computer chair._

_Oh, how he had missed his chair._

_It took only eight or so minutes for Watari to poke his head in and ask what sickeningly-sweet treats his charge desired. Ryuzaki rattled off a list of sugar-packed candies and desserts that would cripple any ordinary man, all without blinking. Watari simply gave a, "Very good, Sir" and turned to go dig up the sweets._

_Instead of nodding and settling to stare off into space as he usually did, Ryuzaki asked a question and made a request. To him, both the question and the request seemed perfectly logical. Watari, however, was thrown for a loop._

"_Sakura-san isn't up yet? Strange. Check in on her, please, Watari."_

_Watari paused at the doorway, staring at Ryuzaki for a long moment, unsure of what to do. The young man looked up when he realized that his companion had not yet left._

"_Is there something wrong, Watari?"_

_Watari took a minute to compose his words carefully. "Ah...Sakura-san, Sir?"_

_Ryuzaki gazed at him blankly. Had he said something wrong? Had he not spoken clearly?_

_And then it clicked._

_Ryuzaki merely regarded Watari with his usual unreadable expression. "Scratch that, Watari," he amended calmly. "I must still be half-asleep."_

_Watari, however, knew for a fact that Ryuzaki was entirely awake. Ryuzaki was aware of it as well, and he knew it. Instead of bringing that up, Watari simply nodded and walked out of the room._

_Ryuzaki then proceeded to stare sightlessly into space for the next half-hour._

.

Yes.

He remembered that day very well.

He also remembered how he'd felt.

It was exactly the same as he felt now.

Empty.

.

.

.

Sakura returned the next day.

Quietly.

With an escort.

A tall man with slicked-back pale blond hair and light blue eyes. A woman with shoulder-length golden-blond hair and amber eyes. Both were wearing formal suits. And almost-scowls.

The woman wore a small headset, including a pen cap-sized camera. It was recording.

Ryuzaki wore a mask, concealing his face from being revealed to unknown persons.

Thank Kami for Watari's advanced warning when he saw them approaching on a security camera.


	23. Explanations

The next chapter is finally up! :) Sadly, this story will soon be ending. I don't know how many chapters are left; it just depends on what I decide to do to Light and Misa.

So, yeah.

Please read and review! :D

* * *

"What," L asked calmly, "is going on here?"

Despite how much he wanted to demanded Sakura's whereabouts for the past two days, he didn't; now wasn't the time.

He had to worry about the two characters that had escorted her in.

The two characters who were quite obviously armed.

Instead of answering L's question, the woman asked one of her own. "Are you L?"

He was quiet for a moment. "I do not believe," he said evenly, "that you answered my question, Miss…?"

She didn't appear pleased. "Lidner," she stated icily. "Halle Lidner."

Aizawa's eyes widened in shock. "Wait…," he murmured, recognition taking over. "I know you! You're a member of the SPK — the Special Provision for KIRA." His eyes switched to the man. "And you! You're a member, too! Anthony Lestor!" Then, his eyes darkened. "You work for N."

The man — Anthony — gave a curt nod. "You are correct. Near sent us."

_Near?_ Matsuda thought in confusion. _Is that 'N', then?_

"Why are you here?" L inquired. He did not like to repeat himself.

Halle glared down at Sakura and shoved the girl. "Explain."

Sakura glowered back up at the woman. As much as she wanted to give her a good ass-kicking, the kunoichi figured that she'd better cooperate.

It was kinda her fault, after all…

.

.

.

"Good night," Sakura murmured, smiling softly.

She stood in the doorway to her room, holding the edge of the door loosely in her hand, her head turned, gazing at L. He gave her a faint nod, standing a few feet away, hands shoved lazily into his jeans pockets. He rubbed the bottom of one foot against his other leg.

Typical L.

After a moment's pause, she stepped into her room and closed the door. She listened until his quiet footsteps disappeared, almost feeling guilty for what she was about to do.

Almost.

Sakura sighed and ran a hand through her messy pale pink hair. She remained there for a long minute before sighing again. Slowly, she walked to her nightstand and opened the top draw.

Her hip pouch and kunai holster were inside.

She strapped them on and tugged her ninja boots onto her feet. Then, she removed her hitai-ate from its position holding her hair back.

And tied it around her forehead.

She had a job to do.

.

"Thank you," Sakura murmured as she accepted the map, ignoring the police officer's strange look. She unraveled it as she walked out of the police station, looking it over.

There.

Sakura pulled out the pen she'd stolen from the policeman's desk without his notice and drew a circle around a black dot.

Tokyo.

She remembered L telling her one time that they were in Tokyo — the Kanto Region, to be exact.

Now she had to find the Chugoku Region.

It took a moment, but Sakura finally spotted. To her relief, it wasn't on a separate island. It was a ways away, though.

Damn.

Sakura found another black dot and drew a sloppy star around it.

Hiroshima.

The place were Light and Misa had been spotted early that morning, according to the call Watari received.

Sakura checked the key to measure how many miles were between Tokyo and Hiroshima, then glanced up to see the position of the moon. It was well after midnight. The sun would be up in just two or three hours at most. Considering how unfamiliar she was with the territory (read: she didn't know shit about the area), it was going to take a while.

Oh, well.

It had to be done, and she was the only one that could take them down alone. This way, there would be no injuries.

.

A man going by the name Sato Daisuke — a man with black hair, brown eyes, and no distinguishing features — stepped out of his apartment building calmly. His fiancée, Tanaka Ami — a girl with long red-brown hair, dark eyes, and glasses — followed with a smile. They were normal, everyday people that you typically saw in the Chugoku Region.

Except for the fact that they were Yagami Light and Amane Misa in disguise.

A man in an apartment across the street — a peeping tom, of all people, with a pair of binoculars — had seen Misa putting on her wig the previous morning and had recognized her. He had been the one to call Watari.

He now lived in an apartment on the other end of the Chugoku Region for fear of being found out.

Anthony Lestor and Halle Lidner stood three blocks down, sipping coffee and seemingly chatting like old friends. And wearing brown wigs. Halle had a small camera disguised as the bottom half of her plastic coffee thermos aimed directly at "Daisuke" and "Ami".

As the two masquerading Kiras walked down the street, appearing for all intents and purposes innocent, Anthony and Halle followed. Halle made sure to keep the camera trained on the pair so that Near, who was watching the video feed from a computer at their base, could get a clear shot. When Light and Misa rounded a corner, Anthony jogged ahead. He paused beside the corner, then chanced a glance.

They weren't lying in wait to spring a trap. He and Halle were safe, so far.

The two continued after the suspects, keeping a good distance behind them in case they turned around.

They didn't.

Light and Misa walked down the street, crossed at an intersection, and continued on down two more roads, all the while unsuspecting. They passed an abandoned lot, nearing another corner.

That was when Sakura stepped out in front of them — from around the corner.

Anthony and Halle, immediately sensing something was off, darted into the abandoned lot and ducked down, peering cautiously at the three through a dead-plant-infested chain-link fence. Light and Misa were frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at Sakura.

Truth be told, Sakura wouldn't have recognized the pair, even if she saw them at close range.

Ryuk hovering behind Misa kinda gave them away, though.

"Hello, Light-san," she greeted coldly. "Misa-san."

They staggered back.

"H…how did you find us? !" Light demanded, glaring at her.

Sakura delivered them both a sickeningly sweet smile before grabbing both of them by the front of their shirts. They cried out objections, but she didn't react. Instead, she stalked toward the abandoned lot at a ground-eating pace and threw them both at the far wall of fencing. Anthony and Halle tensed, eyes wide. Thankfully, the pink-haired girl hadn't noticed them.

Light and Misa rolled slowly on the ground, groaning. Sakura nudged Light with her foot.

"Get up," she growled.

Her sent her a glower. Not in the mood to put up with him, she snatched him off the ground by his collar and held him up. His feet didn't touch the concrete.

"I've been waiting a long time for you two to slip up," she hissed in his face. "Now, you have — and I'm going to put an end to you."

"Do you have any idea what you're doing? !" Light demanded angrily.

Sakura's eyes were steely. "Yes," she said flatly. "I know _exactly_ what I'm doing."

"You won't!" Light declared with a smirk. "Without me, this world is _nothing_. Could you live with yourself, knowing that you'd just condemned an entire world to damnation?"

She laughed mockingly. "Yagami, I've killed many criminals with longer records than you — and larger egos, though it may seem impossible." She gave a cold smile. "You're barely a cockroach beneath my shoe."

"Then that makes you just as bad as me," he chuckled darkly. "Are you going to kill yourself, as well?"

"There's a difference between you and me," she corrected with a dangerous glare. "I was forced into this lifestyle when I was four — just like every other kid in my village that was discovered to possess chakra — and I don't consider myself a god like _you_. I'm not proud of my work; that's why I became a medic. I devoted myself to saving others, even at the cost of my own life. But if I can rid the world of psychopaths like you…well, I'd say that's a damn good job."

Light glared openly at her. "You're just one person," he hissed, trying — and failing — to make her release her grip on his shirt. "I've already killed the infamous L and Watari. Soon, Matsuda, Aizawa, Mogi, and my father will be dead, too. And there's nothing you can do about it."

Sakura brought his face to hers. She practically snarled as she replied.

"You may have killed L and Watari," she growled, "but I _brought them back_." Light's eyes went wide in shock. "Top that, you sick son of a bitch."

With that, she abruptly let go of his shirt. Before gravity could even begin to drag him down, she punched him point-black in the face. He was thrown back, slamming so hard into the chain-link fence that he brought it down with him. Misa gasped, trembling on the ground in terror.

"Kira, Second Kira," the kunoichi spat, "prepare to share your victims' fate."

In a flash, she gripped a kunai in her right hand. A click sounded behind her as she took a step forward for an attack.

"Don't move."

Slowly, she glanced over her shoulder, not moving in any other way whatsoever — except to smoothly put her kunai away, which neither of the new-comers had seen. Halle and Anthony had both stepped forward, handguns pointed directly at her. Light shifted to get up, and Halle's gun immediately switched aim to him.

"You, too," she snapped. "Not. An. Inch."

Light scowled. Misa looked petrified. Sakura was calm.

As Anthony called a few of his lackeys to come pick Light and Misa up, Halle watched Sakura.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

Sakura's expression didn't change. "It is common courtesy to give your own name before asking another's."

Halle's eyes narrowed slightly. She pulled out her identification and showed it, covering up her first name with her thumb. "Agent Lidner of the SPK." She wasn't stupid; she knew better than to give Kira her first name.

Or her real last name.

Sakura smiled ever so slightly. "I am Sakura," she murmured.

"Sakura what?" she inquired suspiciously.

The girl's smile widened as she raised an eyebrow. She said nothing.

Ah.

Halle's eyes narrowed further.

So she wasn't stupid, either. She'd have to keep an eye on her.

Halle kept this in mind during the entire half hour it took for Anthony's lackey's to arrive. They wasted no time, fortunately, in grabbing Light and Misa, and then throwing them in the back of their van. They were being handcuffed as the van drove off. Sakura watched it leave with a flash of irritation but said nothing. Free of their burden, Halle and Anthony focused on Sakura.

"Let's go, kid," the man ordered, stepping forward. He grabbed Sakura's arm; she didn't struggle.

Anthony and Halle held their guns carefully as they guided Sakura down the street to their car, making sure the weapons were out of sight. Sakura, interested in where they were going to take her, made no attempt to escape.

"Now," Halle said quietly, "what was it you said about the detective L?" The kunoichi glanced back at her with a knowing look. "You 'brought him back'?"

Sakura smiled.

.

.

.

"Well?" Anthony demanded, narrowed light blue eyes on L. "Is it true? Are you L — the _real_ L?"

The detective studied him calmly from behind his mask.

"Of course," he replied evenly. "I fail to see the problem here. We tracked down Kira and the Second Kira, then sent Sakura out to take care of them through whatever means necessary."

They all — except Anthony and Halle, of course — knew that was a big, fat lie. It was just the easiest way of discharging the situation.

Sakura honestly never knew L was so good at bullshitting people.

Damn, was she proud.


	24. Introductions

I'm sorry it took so long! I've had major writer's block. T^T Well, anyways, the next chapter is going to be the last. Credit for some of the things that happen in this chapter goes to Mattie-chan (you know who you are). I would type her user name, but FANFICTION IS NOT ALLOWING ME TO TYPE IT. (If you want to find her, search through the reviews on this story for someone who calls me Mello.) She is awesome, and she gave me the idea. I hope you like it, Mattie-chan! ^^

ALSOALSOALSO:

ALL OF YOU PEOPLE MUST SEE THIS. Look up a video called "Ace Venture 2: Funny Scenes (part 2)" by shadowtiger18 on YouTube. By favorite quote and scene OF ALL TIME is at 3:45 into the video.

So, yes. I do not own the video, _Naruto_, or _Death Note_.

Please read and review!

* * *

And she told him so as soon as they got a minute "alone." (Read: a minute where they could walk a few feet away and talk in low voices, because, um, hello: Anthony and Halle weren't about to let them out of their sight.)

"I'm impressed, L," she murmured, much too low for anyone besides the man right in front of her to hear. "You're a natural bullshitter."

L gave that creepy-funny-cute-a-lot-of-other-stuff smile behind his mask. "Why, thank you. I believe I am picking many things up from you."

"You mean like my weapons?"

He was absolutely silent.

Shit. She knew.

His entire frame was tense as he finally whispered back. "How long?"

Sakura smirked. "Five days ago," she replied coolly, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was cleaning and sharpening them. Do you honestly think I don't count my weapons?"

She knew he had spent half his nights trying the weapons out, trying again and again to come even _close_ to what she knew on pure instinct. (And he'd been pretty damn terrible at it, too.) In his nightly hour of sleep — during which he got absolutely no sleep at all, as per usual — he had been plagued with memories of Konoha, of that beautiful village he'd "visited."

The one where everyone looked out for one another and fought as a single being rather than hundreds of people blindly charging into battle. The one Sakura had been born and raised in and had grown up seeing.

The one with doctors that were actually _nice_.

Seriously, man. They were _nice_. That was, like, illegal, or something.

He was also deeply fascinated with the weapons. And who wouldn't be? They were shiny metal deathtraps.

Shiny.

Metal.

Deathtraps.

WHO DOESN'T LOVE SHINY METAL DEATHTRAPS? !

Seriously.

She knew he had stolen away a few and had hidden them from her, encouraging mild hopes that she wouldn't notice a couple missing due to the sheer amount she kept on her. He was disappointed with himself at the thought.

Because, really, what had he been thinking?

_Duh_, smart one.

Of _course_ she would notice.

Can anyone say, "ninja?"

Sensing that he was unable to reply, Sakura smiled.

"You can keep them." His eyebrows lifted behind his mask. "Just don't kill yourself, or I'll have to take them away." His eyebrows settled back down.

"You. Girl."

Sakura turned, obviously irritated.

There were a few things she didn't like to be called; "you" and "girl" were two of them. There were others, of course (Pinky, midget, Pink-bitch, etc.) but that wasn't important at the moment.

"Yes?" she asked curtly.

Halle was watching her with narrowed eyes, clearly annoyed at something as well. "Near wishes to speak with you."

Sakura eyed her evenly. "He does? Such a shame; I do not wish to speak with him."

Matsuda snorted, barely containing a laugh. Aizawa shot him a "shut up, idiot" look. Mogi wore an "I should've seen that coming" expression, shaking his head incredulously, and Soichiro sighed. L cracked a smile. Halle and Anthony both glared at Sakura. Before Halle could speak, a low noise sounded at her ear. She paused, putting a hand to her headset.

She was quiet for a moment, then murmured out, "Fine."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. Halle was not pleased.

"Near says that he still wishes to speak with you, despite your reluctance," the woman said frostily. "Your actions and words when facing off against Yagami-san and Amane-san interested him."

Sakura could've laughed.

Now, who did _that_ remind her of?

.

.

.

Sakura nearly froze when she saw the infamous "Near".

"Great Kami above," she murmured, eyes wide. "How _old_ are you?"

Near arched an eyebrow behind his mask. (He'd stolen the idea from L; he couldn't very well allow her to see his face, after all.)

"Twelve."

Oh, Near. If only you knew what you were getting yourself into.

A small fact about Haruno Sakura:

She adored children.

Especially smart children.

_Especially_ smart children that looked younger than they really were, acted older than their age, and still played with childish toys.

Like Near, for instance.

He and the SPK watched as she appeared to have a heart attack. She just barely restrained herself from going creepy-mother-figure on him and tackling the poor boy. He had no idea just how lucky he was.

Damn Ino and her tempting tendencies.

"Is there something the matter, Sakura-san?" he inquired.

Sakura beamed at him like the sun in a very Naruto-like fashion.

"Not in the slightest," she assured him.

Before any of them could even blink, Sakura was suddenly on the other side of the large room, bent over — her hands on her knees to steady herself — examining a city made of dice.

"I wish _I_ had the patience to do something like this," she remarked, wanting to pick up one of the cubes but knowing she shouldn't. She'd probably screw it up, anyways.

A few of the SPK members near her jumped, making papers flutter in all directions. She glanced over her shoulder at them.

"Oh, sorry," she said, throwing her arm out.

They watched in disbelief as her hand flashed in all directions, gathering every single paper before they had the chance to hit the floor. She smiled as she offered the stack to one of the men. He stared at her in shock for a moment, then shakily accepted it.

"Th-thank you," he stammered out.

She waved it off. "No problem." Then, she looked up to find them all staring at her. She got the sense she would feel incredibly stupid for asking her next question, but she did it anyway. "Is something wrong?"

.

.

.

"_L."_

The entire task force looked at Watari's monitor. L pressed the communicator button.

"Yes?"

"_You have a call from a Mister Anthony Lestor."_

Matsuda and Mogi exchanged surprised looks.

"Very well," L murmured. "Connect the call through, please."

Watari transferred the call to sound through the same speakers he'd been talking through.

"_Is this L?"_ came the familiar voice.

"Yes," he said evenly. "What business do you have with me?"

"_That girl on your team — Sakura; you might consider getting her mental state checked. She's claiming to be a ninja from another world."_

Matsuda winced. Aizawa sighed and shook his head incredulously.

Great Kami, Sakura; must you make _everything_ difficult?

.

.

.

The look on Anthony's face when he turned his head slowly to look at Sakura was priceless. His expression when he looked at Near was even better.

"Near," he murmured, voice disbelieving. "L says that she's telling the truth."

Sakura snorted. "Told you."

Near frowned ever-so-slightly behind his mask. She sensed his scrutinizing gaze.

"What?" she demanded. "Why is that so hard to believe? You just caught two people with notebooks _that can kill people via heart attack when you write their names down_. Oh, _and_ it was dropped by a Shinigami from another world!" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Seriously, I don't see what your problem is."

Near had already reached that conclusion seconds after she'd first stated that she was a shinobi. The other members of the SPK, however, didn't appear to be so open-minded.

Or possess common sense.

Logic clearly wasn't their strong point.

Security, apparently, wasn't either — for Mello, of all people, had just kicked in the door.

He had no one with him, though, so that might have been why the men monitoring the cameras hadn't seen fit to alert everyone — assuming they were even paying attention after Sakura's outburst.

"What's this I hear?" the blond hissed furiously, stalking up to Near and yanking him his shirt. "_You_ caught _Kira_?"

Sakura wasn't sure that she wanted to know how the weird kid in black leather found out about Light and Misa being captured. The people in this world, she was quickly learning, had a tendency to be super-geniuses with a horrifying amount of contacts around the globe.

"Mello, calm down," Halle ordered, separating the boy from Near. She fixed him with a stern look. "Keep your hands to yourself, or I'll be forced to remove you from the building."

He glared at her, fists clenching. His eyes darted back to his rival's accusingly.

"Well?" he demanded, arms crossing over his chest. "Did you?" He didn't sound happy.

Near twisted a white curl around his finger, face utterly calm. "I did."

Mello nearly exploded. "How? !" he growled, making a move to snatch him up again before pausing when Halle's eyes narrowed. "What makes _you_ so special? !"

The other boy watched him silently for a moment. "We pinpointed Yagami and Amane's location. I had Anthony and Halle tail them to be sure it was really them." His disinterested gaze turned to Sakura, much to Mello's irritation. He didn't like to be ignored. "She appeared and cut them off."

The blond's eyes snapped to her, taking in her form suspiciously. "What?"

Near ignored his growl. "She apparently threw them around and attempted to kill them. She confirmed for us that they were Yagami and Amane."

"'Threw them around'?" Mello echoed, eyes narrowed.

"Literally," Halle agreed dryly.

That bit of information sparked Mello's attention. "Who are you?"

Sakura sighed. "How many times am I going to have to introduce myself?" she demanded irritably, frowning at them. "I'm Sakura. A ninja. From another world. Happy?"

At the boy's blank look, Halle said sourly, "She's telling the truth."

His expression clearly displayed, "Are you shitting me?" even though his mouth refused to work.

Well.

That was…

Interesting.

Sakura glared at them all.

"Can I _go_, now?" she growled. "I'd rather L not have to send someone over here to get me."

The look on Mello's face was even better than when she declared herself to be a ninja. "_L_?" he echoed, eyes wide.


	25. All That Matters

Hello, all! Well, it's finaly here: the last chapter. (More like an epilogue, but you get the point.) There will be no sequal; sorry.

I hope you all like it. :)

Please read and review!

* * *

A small fact about Near and Mello:

Their goal in life was to become the greatest detectives the world had ever seen so that they could replace L when he died — after he chose which one of them would be his successor, of course.

Another little note concerning them:

The one thing they wanted most in life, more than Near wanted his toys, more than Mello wanted chocolate bars, was to meet the real L.

So Sakura, upon learning this as she studied Mello's face and listened to the conversation they were holding, hissed dangerously at Anthony until he called up L. He did so grudgingly, attracting the pair's attention.

"What the heck are you doing?" Mello demanded, glaring at her.

She blatantly ignored him, earning a gritted teeth scowl, and smiled as Anthony followed her orders of bringing up a picture of L and the task force on a monitor. On the other end, her friends watched as she planted her hands on a desk and leaned forward.

"_Having fun?"_ Matsuda asked cheekily, grinning.

Sakura's lips twisted in amusement. "I'll bring you back a souvenir," she said dryly. He laughed in returned. "L, would you do me a favor, please?"

Said man's head tilted slightly. She couldn't see his face for the mask, but she knew he wore a curious expression.

A strangled gasp sounded from Mello as he stared at the screen wide-eyed. Near was very still, mask concealing his face.

"_And what favor would that be?"_ the detective inquired evenly. _"You know how much I enjoy doing favors for you."_

Matsuda made a face in the background as if he was going to be sick. Sakura grinned like she'd just taught a cat how to fly.

"I'm impressed!" she congratulated. "You're finally getting the hang of all the sarcasm I've been throwing at you."

"_Your tendencies are rather contagious."_

Matsuda pretended to gag, earning a glare from her. _"You two are so…so…__**gross**__. Can you just, I dunno, get on with it and jump each other already?"_

Gasps came from the SPK agents at his insinuation. A choking noise signaled Mello's priceless reaction.

"Matsuda, I _will_ come through this computer and beat your sorry face in." He swallowed. She grunted and shifted her weight. "So, yes, favor — There's a couple of boys here that have been dying to meet you."

Near and Mello froze.

o o o O O O o o o

Sakura leaned back in her computer chair, crossing her arms and smiling with self-satisfaction. She was quite the deal-maker if she did say so herself.

The deal she was currently so proud of herself for:

The SPK (and Mello) had to let her go — and quit boring her — in exchange for a meeting between L and the two boys. Without masks.

It seemed like a pretty fair trade to her.

The task force, Anthony, Halle, and some kid named Matt (apparently Mello's sidekick) all waited in another room; they weren't allowed to see L or Near's faces. (Mello showed his face to everyone, so he didn't really matter.) Sakura, however, was very pleased and flattered when L allowed her to witness the meeting.

"You're…," Mello breathed, eyes wide. "You're L?"

"I am," he agreed calmly, gaze unblinking as he watched them. "You are my replacements from Whammy's House. M and N, I suppose?"

They both nodded, seemingly unwilling to stop looking at him for fear that he would disappear.

"We were old that you had died," Near murmured, sounding deceptively disinterested.

L didn't react. "I did."

"This girl," he continued, sparing Sakura a glance, "claims to have revived you."

Still no reaction. "She did."

"And Watari."

L was quickly becoming the master of non-reactions. "It is true." Near and Mello exchanged a look. "I suspect you both have questions for me."

Sakura smiled as both boys immediately rattled off inquiries, gazing at L approvingly. Despite his infamous name(s) and reputation(s), he was easily the most approachable person in this world. (Naruto had him beat by a mile, but that was another story.) With all the power at his command, he could very effortlessly be a rude son of a bitch. But, instead, he chose to be kind. Caring. Attentive. It was a welcome change from the usual bastard-ish (or lazy) geniuses that were common back in the other world.

Sakura paused, eyes flickering.

When had she stopped referring to the world she'd come from as "her world"? When had it become simply "the other world"?

Then, she realized:

She'd started considering this world her home after she met L.

Her smile was soft, eyes distant. The three geniuses noted that as they conversed, but only the oldest understood her expression.

"—in the future?" was the only part of Near's words she caught as she tuned into their discussion.

"Yes," L agreed evenly, his small creepy smile — the one Near could imitate perfectly — in place. "I shall look forward to working with the both of you."

o o o O O O o o o

Sakura tapped on a man's shoulder, startling him. He whipped around, eyes wide, trying to fling his gun in her face. She beamed.

"Hello."

And decked him.

.

.

.

L smiled wryly as Sakura dragged an unconscious, hog-tied man through the door. The former task force's main room was empty save for them. Soichiro, Aizawa, Matsuda, and Mogi had left two years previous after the capture of Kira and the Second Kira; all four had been reinstated into the police force, and Soichiro had regained his chief status.

"The terrorist?" he inquired, studying the man.

"Yep," Sakura agreed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Found him hidden on the college campus — just like you said."

L gave a slight nod. "Take him to Watari. He'll dispose of him at the police station."

With a smile, Sakura grabbed the criminal by the back of his shirt and carried him out. L spun around in his computer chair and alerted Watari of Sakura's arrival. Blinking to himself in satisfaction, he reached out for a small cake of sugary goodness. He paused, eyeing the bite mark that marred it. After a moment, he shrugged indifferently and popped it into his mouth.

Surely Sakura wouldn't get too mad at him for eating her cake.

.

.

.

Going out in public with L never failed to give Sakura a thrill. For three and a half years, now, she'd only ever left their building to beat up and capture a criminal. It had been a long time since they'd last sat in a little café and acted like normal people.

Sakura eyed the ring on her finger as she chewed on a stick of dango. L wore an identical one.

It was a running joke between them.

They'd come to an agreement nearly two years previous that, yes, they _did_ "share a mutual interest in one another" and, yes, they _did_ want to stay together, but, no, they _couldn't_ get married. (L = famous face/name = _bad idea_.) So, after discovering how to work the little prize machines at the front of the café, Sakura popped in coins and won two plain (fake) gold rings.

Fake marriage.

Simple.

Besides, the marriage itself wasn't important; it was the implication of it — of pledging oneself to another forever.

And that, Sakura thought as she smiled across the table as L, was all that mattered.


End file.
